JP4365810B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage tank that stores game balls supplied from the outside, and a game ball that is located on the inclined downstream side of the bottom wall of the storage tank and is provided integrally with the storage tank and stored in the storage tank. The present invention relates to a gaming machine including a discharge device that can discharge a predetermined number of pieces.

  A conventional gaming machine includes a gaming board that forms a gaming area and a front frame to which the gaming board is attached. The front frame is formed with a game board storage part for storing the game board, and the game board is stored in the game board storage part from the front side or the rear side of the gaming machine. In addition, on the back side of the front frame, there are provided a discharge device that discharges prize balls and rental balls, a discharge control device that controls the discharge device, various ball passages, and the like. The game board is provided with an electrical device such as a liquid crystal display device, and the electrical device is disposed in a bulging state on the rear side of the game board. Therefore, on the back side of the front frame, the discharge device, the spherical flow path, and the like are arranged so as to avoid this electrical device. In recent years, with the increase in the size of electrical equipment arranged on a game board, there is a tendency that the problem of the arrangement space of various mechanisms on the back side of the front frame increases.

  In addition, a storage tank for temporarily storing game balls supplied from the island facility is provided at the upper part on the back side of the front frame. A lead-out basket is provided on the downstream side of the storage tank, and the game balls stored in the storage tank are guided to the side portion on the back of the gaming machine while flowing down the guide basket and being rectified in one row. . A ball path in the vertical direction is provided on one side of the front frame on the back side, and the upstream end of the ball path is connected to the downstream end of the lead rod, and the game ball that has flowed down the lead rod is The flow direction is changed in the vertical direction near the side edge of the front frame. The discharging device is provided in the middle of the ball flow path, and a predetermined number of game balls are discharged by the discharging device.

In addition, a gaming machine in which the discharge device is integrally provided in a storage tank is also considered (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the case where the discharge device is provided integrally with the storage tank, only the ball channel is provided on one side of the opening in the front frame. Even when the electrical equipment is increased in size, there is an effect that the problem of the arrangement space of the discharge device can be solved.

Thus, when the discharge device is provided integrally with the storage tank, the game balls stored in the storage tank are directly taken into the discharge device. That is, as described above, the game balls flow down from the intake port provided at, for example, the bottom of the storage tank to the discharge device without being aligned by the lead-out rod.
Here, in the storage tank, the flow path (for example, the upper surface of the bottom of the storage tank) that causes the game ball to flow down to the intake port side is abruptly narrowed before the intake port to guide the game ball to the intake port. Therefore, the ball clogging is likely to occur. Also, since the intake port is provided at the bottom of the storage tank, the game balls also overlap on the intake port, and the game balls mesh with each other by the ball pressure of these stacked game balls to form a bridge, Ball clogging may occur.

In addition, in the game ball flow path, ball clogging has been a problem before a configuration in which a storage device such as that described above is provided with a direct discharge device has been proposed. A gaming machine has also been proposed in which a vibrator is provided to prevent clogging and the ball clogging is eliminated by vibration when the ball clogging occurs (see, for example, Patent Document 2). It is conceivable to apply such a configuration to a gaming machine in which a discharge device is provided integrally with a storage tank, and to suppress clogging of balls.
JP 2000-79225 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-280902

However, if a vibrator device is provided as in Patent Document 2, there may be a possibility that ball clogging can be eliminated to some extent. Are not aligned in one or two lines, and in the storage tank, the game balls pile up and down in the vertical direction and flow irregularly toward the intake port, so if a ball clog occurs, vibration occurs. There is a higher possibility that the ball clogging cannot be solved sufficiently.
Further, it is necessary to provide a vibration motor as a vibrator device only for eliminating the ball clogging and to control the vibration motor, which increases costs.
In addition, it is necessary to secure a space for mounting a relatively powerful vibration motor that is effective against clogging in the storage tank. In addition, the vibration motor needs to be firmly attached so as to withstand vibration, and the wiring of the power cable (control cable) is required, so that the work becomes complicated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a game machine that discharges game balls from a storage tank to a discharge device that is integrated with a storage tank. It is to be able to reliably prevent clogging of the balls without increasing the number.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a storage tank that stores game balls supplied from the outside, and is located on the inclined downstream side of the bottom wall of the storage tank and is integrated with the storage tank. In a gaming machine having a tank discharge device provided with a discharge device that is capable of discharging a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tank.
The discharge device is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and includes a rotating body having a plurality of ball receiving portions that receive game balls from an introduction portion into which the game balls of the storage tank are introduced. In response to the rotation of the ball, the game ball is received in the ball receiving unit and the received game ball is led out to the deriving unit .
The pre-Symbol reservoir tank is attached to the gaming machine main body, mounted to be swingable about a swing axis the discharge device to the storage tank,
The center of gravity of the rotating body is eccentric with respect to the rotating shaft .

Here, the fact that the discharge device is provided integrally with the storage tank does not necessarily mean that the discharge device is integrally formed with the storage tank. For example, a single game ball (or a game ball between the storage tank and the discharge device (or The game balls stored in the storage tank directly flow into the discharge device without providing alignment passages such as guide rods to be aligned in a number of items such as 2). For example, the storage tank and the discharge device are located at a distance from each other, and there is not a configuration in which there is a game ball passage for sending a game ball from the storage tank to the discharge device at these intervals. Is a state where the storage tanks are arranged without being spaced apart, and a part of the configuration of the storage tank and a part of the configuration of the discharge device are shared, and there is not necessarily a clear boundary It has become.
And in this invention, it is set as the structure which divided | segmented the discharge device with respect to the storage tank so that a discharge device can rock | fluctuate with respect to a storage tank in the state where a storage tank and the discharge device were united, and a discharge device can be rock | fluctuated. It is a thing. And in the divided | segmented structure, the above-mentioned shared part is distributed to the storage tank side or the discharge device side.
In addition, the introduction part has an opening through which a game ball can flow, and is, for example, a part serving as a reception port for the game ball to the discharge device side.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the discharging operation is performed in the discharging device, that is, when the rotating body rotates, the discharging device swings with respect to the storage tank by the rotation of the rotating body. Thus, the clogging caused by the game balls before they flow from the storage tank into the discharge device mesh with each other to form a bridge is eliminated. In other words, even if a plurality of game balls are meshed with each other at the introduction part or in the vicinity thereof, the game balls on the introduction part are moved in particular by the swinging of the discharge device, so that the game balls Will be broken. Further, by decentering the center of gravity of the rotating body, the discharging device can be reliably swung based on the rotation of the rotating body, and the ball clogging can be eliminated.

Here, the rotating body does not necessarily have a center of gravity at the center of rotation, and when the center of gravity deviates from the center of rotation, the discharging device swings due to the rotation of the rotating body.
In addition, in the rotating body, the game ball is derived and received by the rotation, and the presence state of the game ball in each ball receiving portion of the rotating body changes, and thereby the center of gravity of the rotating body moves. Since the load (friction, etc.) with respect to the rotation of the rotating body varies depending on the position of the rotating body, the discharge device swings even if the center of gravity of the rotating body alone coincides with the center of rotation.
Further, when the game ball is derived from the discharge device and the game ball is received by the discharge device, a force acts between the discharge device and the derived game ball or the received game ball. The ejector swings.
In addition, the rotation of the rotating body generates vibrations (including those due to deviations in the center of gravity and the rotation center based on assembly errors, etc., but also includes vibrations due to elements other than the center of gravity of the rotating body, such as vibration of the drive source). However, the vibration of the discharge device is caused by this vibration and the discharge device is swingable with respect to the storage tank, so that the vibration state differs between the storage tank side and the discharge device side. It becomes a state where the ball clogging is easier to be resolved than in the case where it is done.

The invention according to claim 2 is the gaming machine according to claim 1,
The bottom wall of the storage tank is inclined down to one side of the gaming machine in the left-right direction, and an inclined portion is formed in which gaming balls flow irregularly with a plurality of widths,
The swing shaft is provided in the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine,
The discharge device includes a first state in which a connection portion with a downstream end portion of the inclined portion is located in an inclined upstream direction of the inclined portion, and a connection portion between the downstream end portion of the inclined portion and an inclined downstream portion of the inclined portion. It is swingable to a second state positioned in the direction and is biased to the first state.

Here, the first state of the discharging device is a normal state where no force is applied to the discharging device, and the second state of the discharging device is more detailed in the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine (that is, in the direction crossing the inclined portion). Is a state in which the portion below the swing axis of the discharge device is on the downstream side of the tilt direction of the tilt portion with respect to the swing axis along the direction intersecting the tilt direction.
In addition, the introduction portion for introducing the game ball from the storage tank to the discharge device is provided on the inclined downstream side of the inclined portion in order to introduce the game ball in the storage tank, and discharge corresponding to the introduction portion. An apparatus will be arrange | positioned and a discharge device will also be arrange | positioned in the inclination part downstream.

According to the invention described in claim 2, when the game ball flows down along the inclination direction of the inclined portion when the game ball is supplied to the storage tank or when the game ball is led out, the inclined portion The force of the game ball on the inclined portion acts on the discharging device that can swing freely on the swinging shaft provided along the direction crossing, for example, the discharging device moves from the upstream side of the inclined portion to the downstream side of the inclined portion. It is pushed to move, that is, to move from the first state to the second state. As a result, the discharging device swings from the first state to the second state against the biasing force to the first state, and further swings back from the second state to the first state. Will be repeated several times.
Alternatively, in the discharge device that is in the second state due to the ball pressure in the storage tank, when the ball pressure is reduced by deriving the game ball, the discharge device swings from the second state to the first state. Cases are also conceivable.

  If the ball is clogged by such swinging of the discharge device, the ball clogging is eliminated. That is, the discharge device not only swings due to the rotation of the rotating body in the discharge device, but also the discharge device swings depending on the state of the game ball in the storage tank, and the ball clogging is eliminated. In addition, in a state where the ball pressure received from the game ball on the inclined portion is large and the discharge device is in the second state, the discharge device is returned to the first state even when the game ball is moved or led out. In the case of stopping in the second state without moving, the discharging device may be urged in the direction from the second state to the first state by the urging means. That is, when the discharge device does not return to the first state by its own weight alone, the discharge device may be more easily swung by being biased by the biasing means and balanced.

The invention according to claim 3 is the gaming machine according to claim 2,
The discharge device is provided with the introduction portion, and is configured such that an upstream end portion of the introduction portion overlaps a lower end portion of the inclined portion,
The upstream end portion of the introduction portion moves downward when the discharging device converts from the first state to the second state.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the introduction portion that is a shared portion of the discharge device and the storage tank is provided on the discharge device side, so that the introduction portion moves together with the discharge device, and storage is performed. Since the upper end side of the introduction portion overlaps with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion of the bottom wall of the tank, when the ball clogging occurs in the portion from the inclined portion to the introduction portion, the inclined portion On the other hand, by moving the introduction portion, it is possible to efficiently move the game balls packed with balls and eliminate the ball blocks.

Also, the upstream end of the introduction portion is always lower than the downstream end of the inclined portion even when the discharge device swings between the first state and the second state. Even if the introduction portion swings, the game ball can flow smoothly from the inclined portion side to the introduction portion side without preventing the flow of the game ball from the inclined portion to the introduction portion.
In addition, in the introduction part, an opening part is required for the ball receiving part of the discharge device to accept the game ball, and the part outside the peripheral edge of the opening part of the introduction part guides the game ball to the opening part side. It is necessary that the slope be inclined downward toward the opening, even if the discharge device swings, that is, even if the discharge device is in the first state. However, it is preferable to maintain the state inclined toward the opening. That is, it is preferable that the discharge device does not swing at a large inclination angle such that the inclination of the introduction portion toward the opening portion is reversed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the gaming machine according to the second or third aspect,
The discharge portion is provided with a height limiting member that limits the height at which the game balls flowing down the inclined portion and flowing into the introduction portion are positioned on the downstream side of the inclined portion.
The height limiting member is
Extending from the discharge device toward the upstream side of the inclined portion so as to increase the distance from the surface of the height limiting member facing the upper surface of the inclined portion,
The height restricting member is moved up and down by swinging the discharge device between the first state and the second state.

  Here, the height limiting member is a downstream portion before the introduction portion of the inclined portion, and the distance between the height limiting member and the upper surface of the inclined portion becomes closer toward the downstream side. good. That is, it suffices that the slope of the height limiting member is steeper than the sloped portion, and the lower surface of the height limiting member may be formed to be linearly inclined or inclined to a curved line. It may be formed.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the height of the game balls flowing into the introduction portion is restricted by the height restriction member, so that the game balls are stacked on the introduction portion so that the weight of the game balls is increased. It is possible to prevent the ball pressure from increasing and the game ball from being easily clogged.
In addition, in a portion where the height limiting member and the inclined portion overlap each other, a lot of game balls flow in at a time, so that the game ball is clogged between the height limiting member and the inclined portion. In this case, when the position of the discharging device is changed between the first state and the second state by the swinging of the discharging device, the height limiting member moves up and down. Thereby, since the space | interval of a height limiting member and an inclination part becomes wide or becomes narrow, the ball clogging between a height restriction member and an inclination part can be broken. That is, the game ball was sandwiched between the inclined portion and the height limiting member, but the space between the inclined portion and the height limiting member is widened, so that the game ball between them is From the pinched state to the released state, ball clogging is eliminated.
Alternatively, the game balls solidified in a bridge shape by meshing with each other between the inclined portion and the height restricting member are strongly pressed due to a narrow interval between the inclined portion and the height restricting member, and the bridge collapses. The ball clogging is eliminated.

Further, the height restricting member is increased when the discharging device is in the first state, and the height restricting member is decreased when the discharging device is in the second state, and the storage tank is replenished with game balls, and there are many game balls. When the state is in a state where the discharge device is in the second state due to the ball pressure and the first state is reached when the number of game balls is reduced, the following effects can also be achieved.
When there is a lot of game balls in the storage tank and a ball clogging occurs between the height limiting member and the downstream portion of the inclined portion on the inclined portion side from the introduction portion, the discharge device is The height limiting member is in a low state. The game ball is introduced into the discharge device every time the game ball is discharged by the discharge device in a state where the game ball cannot flow down to the introduction portion side due to the ball blockage on the introduction portion side from the ball blockage position in the storage tank. The game balls on the introduction portion are reduced, and thereby the load (ball pressure) of the game balls related to the discharge device is reduced.

  Therefore, in a state where the remaining game balls on the introduction portion are reduced, the discharge device returns from the second state to the first state, and the height limiting member becomes high. In this case, the space between the downstream portion of the inclined portion and the height restricting member is opened, and the height restricting member that has pressed the upper portion of the game ball that has been clogged with the ball is separated upward, and the ball is clogged. The upper side of the game ball that has been released will be released. Thereby, the ball clogging can be eliminated, and the game ball flows into the introduction portion side. Further, at this time, the discharging device repeats swinging by swinging back and the like, and the height restricting member repeatedly moves up and down accordingly, so that the clogging of the balls is surely eliminated.

The invention according to claim 5 is the gaming machine according to claim 4,
The discharge device attaches a driving source for driving the rotating body above the rotating body by a driving source mounting member,
The height limiting member is attached to the drive source attachment member.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the driving source mounting member vibrates based on the operation of the driving source, and the vibration of the driving source mounting member is transmitted to the height limiting member. The ball can be vibrated to prevent clogging. That is, since the height restricting member vibrates in addition to the swinging of the discharge device, it is possible to more reliably prevent the clogging of the balls.

  According to the present invention, since the discharge device is attached to the storage tank so as to be swingable about a swing shaft, the game ball is inserted in the vicinity of the portion where the game ball is introduced from the storage tank to the discharge device. When the ball is clogged, the ball clogging is eliminated by swinging the discharge device, and the game ball can be smoothly introduced from the storage tank to the discharge device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Here, a pachinko gaming machine as a suitable example of the gaming machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 100 of the present embodiment includes a machine frame 110 configured in a rectangular frame shape, and can be rotated with respect to the machine frame 110 at one side of the machine frame 110. A rectangular frame-shaped front frame 120 is pivotally supported. 1 shows the back side of the entire gaming machine 100 having the machine casing 110, and FIG. 2 shows the front frame 120 removed from the machine casing 110.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front frame 120 has a front frame main body 130 serving as a base for mounting various members and the like provided in the front frame 120, and the front frame main body 130. It has a clear member holding frame 140 pivotally supported on the front side and a firing operation unit 150 attached to the lower side of the clear member holding frame 140 on the front side of the front frame main body 130. A back mechanism frame 160 including a display unit 170 is pivotally supported on the back side of the front frame main body 130 so as to be rotatable.

  The front frame main body 130 is configured in a substantially rectangular plate shape so as to fit within the machine frame 110 having a rectangular frame shape, and accommodates the game board 1 described later in a portion extending from the center to the upper end portion. For this purpose, a rectangular opening is formed. The front surface of the game board 1 accommodated in the front frame body 130 faces the front side from the opening of the front frame body 130. That is, the game board 1 is attached to the front frame 120 by being fitted into the front frame main body 130.

  In addition, the clear member covers the front side of the front frame main body 130 at an opening portion in which the game board 1 of the front frame main body 130 is fitted, that is, a portion extending from slightly lower to the upper end than the center of the front frame main body 130. A holding frame 140 is arranged, and a guide rail (not shown) provided on the front surface of the game board 1 between the front surface of the game board 1 and a glass plate as a clear member fitted in the clear member holding frame 140. ) Is a game area (not shown) in which a game ball is launched and flows down.

Also, one side of the clear member holding frame 140 (the left side as viewed from the front side of the gaming machine 100) is pivotally supported by one side of the front frame main body 130 so as to be door-shaped. The front side of the game area on the front side of the game board 1 can be opened by opening the clear member holding frame 140.
The clear member holding frame 140 is spaced from the game board 1 fitted in the opening so as to substantially close the opening of the front frame main body 130 so that a game area where a game ball can flow down is provided. A double glass plate is fixed. In the clear member holding frame 140, at least a part of the game area on the front side of the game board 1 can be visually recognized from the front side of the gaming machine 100 through the glass plate.

A firing operation unit 150 is attached to the lower side of the clear member holding frame 140 on the front side of the front frame body 130.
The firing operation unit 150 has an opening / closing panel (not shown) that can be opened / closed by being pivoted in the left / right direction, with the left side that is one side of the left / right sides being pivotally attached to the front frame main body 130. It consists of a lower panel (not shown). The open / close panel has an upper plate (not shown) that stores the discharged game balls and sends the game balls to a launching device (not shown) that launches the game balls. In addition, the lower panel on the lower side of the open / close panel has a lower plate (not shown) and an ashtray (not shown) for containing game balls that cannot be accommodated in the upper plate, and a game ball launch operation toward the game area. In addition, an operation handle 151 for adjusting the firing force when the game ball is launched into the game area, a speaker (not shown) for outputting sound, and the like are provided.

In addition, the back mechanism frame covers the back side of the front frame body 130 on the back side of the front frame body 130 and extends from the upper end of the opening into which the game board 1 is fitted to a position slightly below the center. 160 is arranged.
As shown in FIG. 2, the left end of the front surface of the back mechanism frame 160 is a back surface of the front frame main body 130, and is rotated around an attachment member provided on the right side as viewed from the back surface side of the gaming machine 100. It is pivotally supported and can be opened and closed like a door. By opening the back mechanism frame 160, the upper part on the back side of the game board 1 can be opened.

  In addition, the front frame main body 130 is provided with a structure for attaching each member to the attachment position of each member. For example, a reinforcing rib is formed so as to surround the attached member, A boss or the like for attaching the member is formed.

The game board 1 fitted into the opening of the front frame main body 130 has a game area surrounded by guide rails arranged in a substantially circular shape on the front face (not shown) of the wooden game board main body, and a game ball is included in this game area. (Hit ball; game medium) is fired to play a game.
In the game area, although not shown in the figure, a general map start gate, a general map start memory display that displays the number of unprocessed games in which the game sphere has passed through the general map start gate and the normal map variable display game has not been processed. A general-purpose variation display device for displaying a variation display game of a normal pattern is provided. Also, a normal variable winning device, a special figure start memory display that lights up the number of unprocessed times in which a game ball has won the special variable winning device and the special figure variable display game has not been processed, Front display component 11 (the back side is shown in FIG. 2) forming a display window 12 that becomes a display area of a variable display game of figure, identification information), special variable winning device, panel decoration lamp, general winning mouth, windmill There are provided a hitting direction changing member called a large number of obstacle nails and the like.

  A gate sensor for detecting a game ball that has passed through the normal start gate is provided in the normal start gate. Then, when the game ball driven into the game area passes through the usual figure start gate, the usual fluctuation display game is played on the usual figure fluctuation display (not shown). Here, the common figure change indicator is composed of, for example, LEDs, etc., and a change display game of normal symbols (for example, numbers, symbols, character designs, etc.) displays the lighting state of the common figure change indicator for a predetermined time. This is done by stopping the display. It should be noted that the universal map display game may be displayed in a part of the display area of the special map variable display game. If, as a result of the usual fluctuation display game, the stop indication on the ordinary fluctuation display becomes a special result mode, the opening / closing member of the normal fluctuation prize-winning device is operated for a predetermined time (for example, 0.00. (5 seconds) released as described below. Thereby, it becomes easy to win a game ball in the normal variation winning device, and it is easy to start a variation display game of a special figure.

The normal variation prize winning device includes a pair of left and right opening / closing members, and the opening / closing members always maintain a closed state (a disadvantageous state for the player) at an interval that allows one game ball to flow in. If the result of the game of the map change display on the map change display becomes a predetermined stop display mode (for example, “7”), it is opened in the shape of a reverse “c” and the game is played in the normal variation prize winning device. The ball is changed to a state in which it is easy to flow in (a state advantageous to the player).
This ordinary variable winning device also serves as a special winning start opening. In other words, the start condition is established based on the detection of the game ball by the start port sensor (not shown) provided in the inside of the normal variable winning device (winning area), and the special display variable display game is started. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 2, a front structural member 11 that forms a display window 12 serving as a display area of a special variable display game is attached to a substantially central portion of the game board 1 (game area).
The front structural member 11 is a cylindrical member having a complex cross section, and the substantially central portion of the game board 1 is such that the direction in which the cylindrical space extends is along the front-rear direction of the game board 1. It is attached in a state of being inserted into the display opening formed in the above. The display opening is formed in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the front structural member 11 having a complicated cross section.

  A front end surface of the front structural member 11 is decorated, and a panel decoration lamp as a panel decoration is provided. Further, the lower part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component 11 is a stage on which a game ball can roll. The rear part of the front structural member 11 protrudes rearward from the rear surface of the game board, and the rear end part 16 is arranged so that the front face of a display unit 170 attached to a back mechanism frame 160 described later comes into contact. As a result, the display on the image display surface 171 of the display unit 170 can be viewed from the front side of the game board 1 through the display window 12 which is an opening of the cylindrical front structural member 11. Yes. As will be described later, the area of the image display surface 171 is sufficiently larger than the area of the display window portion 12, and the display on the image display surface 171 is performed only in the region where the display window portion 12 is disposed. So that it is controlled.

Then, based on the fact that the game ball thrown into the game area enters the normal variable winning device that also serves as the start port of the special figure and the start condition is satisfied, a plurality of types of identification information (for example, on the image display surface 171) It is possible to execute a special symbol variable display game that displays variable numbers, symbols, character symbols, and the like. It should be noted that the special figure variation display game is performed by varying and displaying a plurality of types of identification information on the image display surface 171 for a predetermined time.
As a result of the special display variable display game, when the display mode of the image display surface 171 becomes a special result mode (for example, any one of the numbers “7, 7, 7”, etc.) It becomes a big hit and it becomes a special game state (so-called jackpot state).

  The special variable prize-winning device is equipped with a big prize opening that is opened and closed by an attacker-type opening and closing door that can be opened by turning the upper end side in a direction that falls to the near side. Is converted from a closed state to an open state, thereby facilitating the inflow of game balls into the special winning opening. The open / close door is driven by a drive device such as a solenoid. In addition, a special winning opening sensor for detecting a game ball that has entered the special winning opening is disposed inside the special winning opening (winning area).

  In addition, a general winning sensor for detecting a game ball that has entered the general winning opening is disposed at each general winning opening provided in the game area. Then, the game ball that is driven into the game area by starting the game is placed in any of the winning ports such as a general winning port, a starting winning port (ordinary variable winning device), a large winning port (special variable winning device), etc. When winning a prize, game balls as a predetermined number of prize balls corresponding to each winning opening are discharged (paid out) to the upper plate by the discharge device 200 under the control of a discharge control board 34 (discharge control device) described later. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gaming machine 100 has a main control circuit (main control board 30; only shown in FIG. 1) for controlling the progress of the game as its control system, under the control of this main control circuit. By a first control circuit (production ROM board 32) for performing control related to various effects, a second control circuit (production control board 33), a discharge control circuit (discharge control board 34) for controlling the payout of prize balls, and a launcher A launch control circuit (launch control board, not shown) for controlling the launch of the game ball and a power supply circuit (power board 37) for supplying power are provided.

A main control board 30 as a main control circuit is a game microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. (not shown), an input / output interface, a clock (oscillator) for outputting pulse signals for synchronization of various processes, timers, etc. Etc.
The CPU includes a control unit and a calculation unit, performs calculation control, and also generates various random number values such as a jackpot determination random number value for a special figure variation display game.
The RAM includes a storage area for storing an ON signal of a start port sensor provided in the normal variation winning device, a storage area for the various random numbers, a work area for the CPU, and the like.
In addition to the game control program and control data being written in the ROM, the special display variable display game for determining the occurrence of the big hit of the special display variable display game corresponding to the various random numbers described above. Jackpot determination value, determination value of variation pattern (type of reach action), and the like are stored.

In addition, the input / output interface is connected to a start opening sensor of an ordinary variable prize device through a low-pass filter and a buffer gate, and various signals are input from the input / output interface. Is output to the CPU.
Furthermore, various control signals output from the CPU are input to the input / output interface, and these control signals are relayed by the input / output interface, and through an output port and a driver (not shown), The signals are output to various open / close solenoids as drive means of the special variation winning device, the production ROM board 32 as the first control circuit, the discharge control board 34 as the discharge control circuit for controlling the discharge of the prize balls.

The effect ROM board 32 as the first control circuit includes a control ROM that stores the control details of the effect, a CGROM that stores image and video data, and a sound data ROM that stores sound data. Note that the contents stored in the various ROMs provided on the effect ROM board 32 depend on the model of the gaming machine.
The effect ROM board 32 relays control signals (such as various commands) output from the main control board 30 and transmits them to the effect control board 33.
Further, the extended ROM board 32 includes a decoration driver (not shown) for driving a board decoration such as a board decoration lamp, based on a control signal (effect command) received by the effect control board 33 from the main control board 30 ( The board decoration driver is controlled (under the control of the main control board 30) to control the board decoration.

An effect control board 33 as a second control circuit directly connected to the effect ROM board 32 is an image memory that controls display on the CPU and RAM as a control device and the display unit 170 (liquid crystal display panel 175). A video circuit including a video display processor (VDP) as a graphic processor, a sound source LSI for controlling sound output, and the like. The effect control board 33 can be commonly used in a plurality of models.
The effect control board 33 controls frame decoration by a frame decoration lamp or the like (under the control of the main control board 30) based on a control signal (effect command) received from the main control board 30 via the effect ROM board 32. The liquid crystal display panel 175 of the display unit 170, the backlight provided in the liquid crystal display panel 175, and the sound output from the speaker are controlled.
In addition, the board via the board decoration driver provided on the effect ROM board 32 based on the control signal (effect command) received from the main control board 30 via the effect ROM board 32 (under the control of the main control board 30). Make decoration.

The discharge control board 34 as a discharge control circuit includes a microcomputer having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., and a control signal (prize ball command) from the main control board 30 and a control from a ball lending machine (not shown). Based on the signal (ball lending command), control is performed to discharge the required number of game balls (prize balls, lending balls) from the discharging device 200.
Moreover, the launch control board as the launch control circuit performs launch control of the game ball by the launch device.
Then, power is supplied to each control board described above and each device provided in the gaming machine 100 from a power supply board 37 as a power supply circuit.

In these control circuits, for example, the following control is performed.
The CPU of the main control board 30 extracts the jackpot determination random number value of the special figure based on the input of the detection signal of the game ball from the start port sensor provided in the normal variation winning device, and the determination stored in the ROM Compared with the value, a process of determining whether or not the special figure variation display game is successful is performed. In addition to this, processing for determining a variation pattern is performed, and a control signal including these results is output to the effect control board 33 via the effect ROM board 32. In the effect control board 33 and the effect ROM board 32 connected to the effect control board 33, based on the control signal from the main control board 30, the process of displaying the special display variable display game on the liquid crystal display panel 175 of the display unit 170, and the output of sound The board decoration such as blinking of the lamp and the process of controlling the frame decoration are performed. Then, the CPU of the main control board 30 performs a control to generate a special game state and operate the special variable winning device 6 when the special display variable display game is a big hit.

  In addition, the CPU of the main control board 30 determines whether or not to hit the fluctuation display game of the usual figure based on the input of the detection signal of the game ball from the gate sensor provided at the usual figure starting gate, as described above. A control signal is output to the effect control board 33 via the ROM board 32, and the usual figure change display game is displayed on the usual figure change display. Then, the CPU of the main control board 30 performs control for operating the normal variation winning device when the usual variation display game is won.

Further, the CPU of the main control board 30 outputs a control signal to the discharge control board 34 based on the detection signal of the game ball input from sensors provided at various winning ports. The discharge control board 34 controls the discharge device 200 based on the input of the control signal so that a predetermined number of game balls are paid out.
The CPU of the main control board 30 outputs a control signal to the launch control board via the discharge control board 34 based on a predetermined input signal. The launch control board controls the launch device based on the input of the control signal so that the game ball is launched into the game area.
That is, from the above, the main control board 30 that forms the main control circuit constitutes a game control device that controls the progress of the game, and the effect ROM board 32 that forms the first control circuit and the effect control board 33 that forms the second control circuit. Constitutes an effect control device that controls various effects in the gaming machine 100.

And each of these board | substrates is attached to the gaming machine as follows.
As shown in FIG. 2, the production ROM board 32 as the first control circuit in which the data depending on the model such as the display data on the image display surface 171 is stored is stored in the box 32a. The rear side of the back mechanism frame 160, which will be described later, is attached to the lower side of the back side, and the main control board 30 as a main control circuit for controlling the game is attached to the rear side thereof in a state of being housed in the box 30a. Yes. An effect control board 33 as a second control circuit that can be commonly used by a plurality of models is attached to a back mechanism frame 160 (described later) attached to the back side of the front frame body 130 in a state of being housed in the box 33a. ing. Further, a discharge control board 34 as a discharge control circuit for controlling the payout of prize balls by the discharge apparatus 200 and a power supply board 37 as a power supply circuit for supplying power to each device in the gaming machine 100 are supplied to boxes 34a and 37a, respectively. In the housed state, the front frame body 130 is attached to a position below the game board 1 on the back side. The launch control board is also attached to the front frame body 130.

  That is, the production-dependent production ROM board 32 and the main control board 30 are attached to the game board 1, and the production control board 33, the discharge control board 34, the launch control board, and the power supply board 37 that can be commonly used by a plurality of models are on the front surface. It is attached to the frame body 130 or the back mechanism frame 160. Therefore, by changing the game board 1, only the board depending on the model is exchanged, and the game content of the gaming machine 100 can be changed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the back mechanism frame 160 includes a main body portion 161 and a guide portion 162 for supporting and guiding a display unit 170 including a liquid crystal display panel 175 for displaying an image. In addition to the unit 170, an effect control board 33 that controls the display unit 170, a discharge device 200 that discharges prize balls, and the like, a storage tank 220 that supplies game balls to the discharge device 200, and a chute 240 are attached. The discharge device 200 and the storage tank 220 constitute a tank discharge device 230 in the gaming machine according to the present invention.

  In addition, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 of the tank discharge device 230 according to the present invention are integrally formed in a state of being joined to each other, but the discharge device 200 can swing with respect to the storage tank 220. It is attached. As will be described later, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 have a common part, and the discharge device 200 that is swingably attached to the storage tank 220 has a part shared with the discharge device 200 of the storage tank 220. The configuration is included.

  As described above, the end on the left side when viewed from the front of the back mechanism frame 160 is connected to the mounting member provided on the back side of the front frame body 130 and on the right side when viewed from the back side of the gaming machine 100. From the state where the upper half of the opening formed in the front frame main body 130 and into which the game board 1 is fitted is covered from the back side so as to face the back side of the game board 1, it is rearwardly shaped like a door. It is possible to rotate between a state where the back side of the game board 1 is opened.

The main body 161 has a display unit disposition portion 163 that is a rectangular box-shaped recess opening on the front side (side facing the back surface of the game board 1) when the back mechanism frame 160 faces the back surface of the game board 1. Is formed.
The display unit arrangement portion 163 forms a display unit storage portion 168 that stores the display unit 170 together with the guide portion 162.
In addition, the lower peripheral wall 167 of the peripheral wall 167 that forms the upper, lower, left, and right peripheral surfaces of the display unit disposing portion 163 that is a rectangular box-shaped concave portion was cut away leaving a part continuous to the corner portion. It is in a state.
Further, guide portions 162 are attached to the front sides of the left and right peripheral walls 167 so as to extend the left and right peripheral walls 167 to the front side. The left peripheral wall 167 of the left and right peripheral walls 167 of the back mechanism frame 160 as viewed from the front side of the gaming machine that is pivotally supported by the front frame main body 130 is described later. A chute 240 is attached.

Similarly, a left guide portion 162 that is pivotally supported by the front frame main body 130 is rotatably attached to the front frame main body 130 so that the back mechanism frame 160 can be opened and closed.
In the state where the guide portion 162 is attached to the main body portion 161, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner peripheral surface of the guide portion 162 is the main inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 167 of the display unit disposing portion 163. The left and right inner peripheral surfaces are formed on substantially the same plane, and a part of the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 167 is extended forward by the guide portion 162. A rectangular concave chamber-shaped space (a space surrounded by at least the back surface and the left and right side surfaces) having a predetermined depth and opened to the front side, which is formed by the display unit arrangement portion 163 and the guide portion 162, is the display unit 170. Is a display unit storage portion 168 for storing.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 170 has a display frame unit 172 formed in a rectangular box shape (frame shape) with an open front side, and the front side of the display frame unit 172 is opened by the opening. The liquid crystal display unit 173 is disposed in an internal space, and a transparent front cover (not shown) that covers the front side of the internal space on the front side of the display unit 172.
The display frame unit 172 has a guided portion 17a, which will be described later, and is movable back and forth within the display unit storage portion 168 of the back mechanism frame 160 as will be described later. Further, the internal space of the display frame unit 172 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a narrow front-rear width, that is, a rectangular plate shape.

  The liquid crystal display unit 173 is formed in a rectangular plate shape so as to fit in the internal space of the display frame unit 172. Further, the liquid crystal display unit 173 includes a box-shaped liquid crystal display unit case 174 having an open front side for housing a liquid crystal display panel 175 (including a backlight), and a liquid crystal display panel housed in the liquid crystal display unit case 174. The front surface having the image display surface 171 of the liquid crystal display panel 175 is exposed from the front surface side of the case 174. Further, the front-rear width of the liquid crystal display unit 173 is slightly shorter than the front-rear width of the internal space closed by the front cover of the display frame unit 172, but the liquid crystal display unit 173 is almost front-rear in the display frame unit 172. It cannot be moved.

  In addition, the vertical width and the horizontal width of the liquid crystal display unit 173 are shorter than the vertical width and the horizontal width of the internal space of the display frame unit 172. Thus, the liquid crystal display unit 173 can be slightly moved up and down and left and right within the internal space of the display frame unit 172 to such an extent that the image display surface 171 of the liquid crystal display unit 173 (liquid crystal display panel 175) can be aligned. Note that a plurality of balls (for example, game balls) are in contact with the back surface of the liquid crystal display unit 173 at a portion facing the back surface of the liquid crystal display unit 173 on the back surface portion of the display frame unit 172 so as to be separated from each other and roll freely. Arranged to be possible.

  In addition, on the left and right side edge portions, which are the outer peripheral edge portion on the front side of the liquid crystal display unit 173, front sliding members 176 having a front portion made of a member having a low friction coefficient are provided on the back surface of the front cover. It is provided so that it can contact. As a result, the liquid crystal display unit 173 in which the front and back are substantially sandwiched between the back surface portion and the front cover of the display frame unit 173 can be smoothly moved vertically and horizontally in the internal space by the sphere and the front sliding member 176. It has become. Further, the liquid crystal display unit 173 is provided with position-adjusted members 17b and 17c, which will be described later, and the positions of the position-adjusted members 17b and 17c are adjusted by position-adjusting members 137 and 138 which will be described later. The image display surface 171 of the liquid crystal display unit 173 (liquid crystal display panel 175) can be aligned with the unit 12.

The left and right inner surfaces of the back mechanism frame 160 formed by the left and right peripheral walls 167 and the guide portions 162 extending from the left and right peripheral walls 167 are on the left and right sides of the display frame unit 172 constituting the outer peripheral portion of the display unit 170. The guide parts 17a (only the upper and lower two on the right are shown in the figure) projecting forward and backward from four places, including the upper and lower parts of the left and right side parts. A substantially groove-shaped guide portion 169 is provided for guiding freely. Two guide portions 169 are provided on the left and right inner peripheral surfaces (only the right inner peripheral surface is illustrated) corresponding to the four guided portions 17a and extending in the front-rear direction. The upper guide portion 169 is formed at the upper portion thereof, and the lower guide portion 169 is formed at the lower portion thereof with protrusions extending in the front-rear direction projecting on the guide rails. The vertical movement is restricted and guided back and forth.
The front end of the guide portion 169 is slightly behind the front end portion of the guide portion 162, and the front end portion of the guide portion 169 is closed to the front end portion of the groove-shaped guide portion 169. A front position restricting member 180 that restricts the movement of the display unit 170 (guided portion 17a) to the front side is formed.

  In the display unit storage section 168, the display unit 170 is arranged so that the image display surface 171 is on the front side (open side). As shown in FIG. 1, by arranging the back mechanism frame 160 so as to face the back surface of the game board 1, the image display surface 171 of the display unit 170 faces the back surface side of the game board 1. When the back mechanism frame 160 faces the back surface of the game board 1, the display unit 170 is arranged at a position separated from the back surface of the game board 1 to the rear side. In addition, the vertical width and the horizontal width of the display unit storage portion 168 are larger than the vertical width and the horizontal width of the display unit 170 (excluding the guided portion 17a protruding to the left and right). It is assumed that there was a space in the room. As a result, the display unit 170 can be easily moved in the front-rear direction, and the display unit 170 can be slightly tilted in the display unit storage portion 168. Basically, as will be described later. In the state where the display unit 170 is urged forward by the urging means, the positions of the position adjusting members 17b and 17c are determined by the position adjusting members 137 and 138, whereby the display unit 170 (liquid crystal display unit 173). Is also determined.

Further, the display unit 170 is urged toward the front side by the urging means made of an elastic member such as a spring. The display unit 170 is in a state where the back mechanism frame 160 is opened or the game board 1 is placed in the front frame. In a state of being removed from 120, the front end portion of the guided portion 17 a of the display unit 170 is in contact with the above-described front position regulating member 180. As will be described later, when the back mechanism frame 160 is closed, the position adjustment members 137 and 138 formed on the back surface of the game board 1 attached to the front frame body 130 shown in FIG. The position adjustment members 17b and 17c of the liquid crystal display unit 173 move rearward against the urging force of the urging means, so that the display unit 170 moves rearward and is at a position regulated by the position adjustment members 137 and 138. It is almost fixed by the urging force of the urging means. This substantially fixed position is the position of the display unit 170 in use after setting.
Note that the position of the display unit 170 is a position where the front surface (the front cover) of the display unit 170 is substantially in contact with the rear end portion around the display window portion 12 of the front structural member 11.

The position adjustment members 137 and 138 are provided corresponding to the position adjustment members 17b and 17c as shown in FIG. The position adjusting members 17b and 17c are provided on the upper edge and the left edge of the liquid crystal display unit case 174 of the liquid crystal display unit 173, and extend outward from the upper edge and the left edge of the display frame unit 172. It is attached to the upper side and the left side outside the display frame unit 172 by a hook-shaped attachment member. The position adjusting members 17b and 17c are rollers that are rotatably supported at both ends by mounting members. The position-adjusting members 17 b and 17 c are arranged at an interval between the inner periphery of the display unit storage portion 168 of the back mechanism frame 160 and the outer periphery of the display unit 170.
The position adjustment member 137 (138) is positioned above and below the position adjustment member 17b (17c) provided on the upper side (left side) of the display unit 170 in parallel with the front surface of the display unit 170 and substantially horizontally (vertically). It is provided corresponding to the left and right positions) and is attached to the upper side (left side) of the front structural member 11 on the rear surface of the game board 1. The position adjusting member 137 (138) is formed to extend rearward from the back surface of the game board 1 to substantially the same front and rear position as the rear end portion of the front structural member 11, and the guide guide portion 13a (13c) is formed on the rear end surface. Has been. The guide guide portion 13a (13c) has a V-shaped cross section and a groove shape extending left and right (up and down). Further, the guide guide portion 13a (13c) is further grooved and fixed in a semicircular cross section at the center portion of the top and bottom (left and right) A portion 13b (13d) is formed.

  The guidance guide portions 13a and 13c are used when the back mechanism frame 160 is closed from the open state with the game board 1 attached to the front frame body 130, or when the back mechanism frame 160 is closed. When the panel 1 is attached to the front frame body 130 from the front side, the position adjusting member 17b disposed substantially horizontally on the display unit 170 (the position adjusting member disposed substantially vertically to the left of the display unit 170). 17c) is engaged with the engagement fixing portion 13b (13d) while guiding the position adjusting member 17b (17c) in the vertical direction (left-right direction) by the guide guide portion 13a (13c) having a V-shaped cross section. It moves and guides, and it positions by inserting the columnar to-be-positioned adjustment member 17b (17c) in the engagement fixing | fixed part 13b (13d) which is a groove | channel with a semicircular cross section.

Here, since the position-adjusting member 17b is attached to the liquid crystal display unit 173, the vertical / left / right positions of the liquid crystal display unit 173 that can be moved vertically and horizontally within the display frame unit 172 as described above are the position adjusting members 137. , 138. Further, since the liquid crystal display unit 173 is almost sandwiched between the back surface portion of the display frame unit 172 and the front cover, when the front and rear positions of the liquid crystal display unit 173 are determined by the position adjusting members 137 and 138, the liquid crystal display unit 173 is correspondingly supported. The front and rear positions of the display frame unit 172 are also determined, and the front and rear positions of the entire display unit 170 are determined.
With the position adjusting members 137 and 138 engaged with the position adjusting members 137 and 138 as described above, the front, rear, left, right, top and bottom positions of the liquid crystal display panel 175 of the display unit 170 are accurately determined. Thus, the position of the image display surface 171 (image display area) of the liquid crystal display panel 175 exposed from the 11 display windows 12 is accurately determined. As a result, the position of the image displayed on the image display surface 171 and the position of the display window portion 12 is not shifted, and an image with no positional deviation can be viewed from the display window portion 12.

  The liquid crystal display panel 175 is housed in a housing such that an image display surface 171 capable of displaying an image is disposed on the front side, and further on the front side is a transparent front cover that protects the liquid crystal display panel 175. Is attached. Therefore, the image display surface of the liquid crystal display panel 175 is visible from the front side of the display unit 170 through the front cover. As shown in FIG. 2, the area of the image display surface 171 is an area that can cover the upper half of the game board 1 fitted in the opening formed in the front frame body 130 from the back side. It is wider than the display window portion 12 formed by the front structural member 11. In other words, the area of the image display surface 171 is at least larger than that of the display window portion 12, so that even if the size of the display window portion 12 changes, it can cope with it. As described above, the image display surface 171 of the liquid crystal display panel 175 covers the back side of the game board 1 widely, so that various game contents of the gaming machine 100 can be changed by replacing the game board 1. It can be adapted to the display window 12 of the game board 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display unit 170 has an effect display ROM so that an image is displayed in an area exposed from the display window 12 because the area of the image display surface 171 is larger than that of the display window 12. It is controlled by the board 32 and the effect control board 33. Information regarding the size and position of the display window 12 of the game board 1 that determines the area for displaying the image is stored in the effect ROM board 32, but the effect ROM board 32 is attached to the game board 1. The effect ROM board 32 is also exchanged together with the game board 1. Therefore, with the replacement of the game board 1, for example, the image display area corresponding to the display window part of the game board so far can be changed to the image display area corresponding to the display window part 12 of the new game board 1. It is like that.

4 and 5, the upper wall 16a of the peripheral wall 167 of the main body 161 of the back mechanism frame 160 has a game corresponding to the inclination of the bottom wall 22a described later of the storage tank 220. An inclined fixed plate 16b is formed which is inclined downward from right to left when viewed from the front of the machine. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage tank 220 is fixed in a state of being placed on the inclined fixing plate 16b.
Further, the upper surface of the right end portion of the main body portion 161 and the upper surface of the right guide portion 162 are flat at the same height and higher than the inclined fixing plate 16b formed on the left side of the right end portion of the main body portion 161. A first step 16d is formed on the right side of the inclined fixed plate 16b.

  On the step surface of the first step portion 16d, a restriction recess 16e is formed between the upper surface of the inclined fixing plate 16b and the upper end portion, and the upper side of the restriction recess 16e, that is, the upper edge of the step surface has a bowl shape. It is in a protruding state. The upper edge portion of the first step portion 16d protruding in a bowl shape contacts the right side surface of the storage tank 220, positions the storage tank 220, and protrudes from the lower portion of the right side surface of the storage tank 220 to the right side. A restricting protrusion 222 (shown in FIG. 8, etc.) is inserted into the fixing recess 16e, thereby restricting the upward movement of the storage tank 220.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper part on the back side of the main body part 161 of the back mechanism frame 160 has a shape cut out further lower than the inclined fixing plate 16b on the lower side of the first step part 16d. The inclined fixing plate 16b is formed so that the rear side thereof is lowered by one step, thereby forming the second stepped portion 16f. The mounting plate 221 formed at the lower part on the back side of the storage tank 220 is fixed to the step surface of the second step portion 16f so that the storage tank 220 is fixed to the main body portion 161 of the back mechanism frame 160. It has become.

In addition, a flat discharge receiving portion 16 h that is further lower than the lower step side of the second step portion 16 f described above is formed at the upper portion of the left end portion of the main body portion 161 and provided on the left side of the storage tank 220. The lower end portion of the discharge device 200 is arranged on the discharge receiving portion 16h.
In the discharge receiving portion 16h, a discharge lead-out portion 20a and a ball discharge lead-out portion 20b, which will be described later, of the discharge device 200 are arranged so that the game ball can flow downward.
As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge receiving portion 16h is provided with a ball introduction opening 16k at a position immediately below the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b. In addition, in the ball introduction opening 16k, there are arranged a discharge channel 248 of a chute 240 described later and an upper end opening serving as a game ball introduction port of a ball removal channel 247.

  The upper end opening of the discharge channel 248 is disposed immediately below the discharge outlet 20a of the discharge device 200, and the upper end opening of the ball discharge channel 247 is positioned directly below the ball outlet outlet 20b of the discharge device 200. Yes. Further, as will be described later, the discharge device 200 can swing along the left-right direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100, and the discharge derivation unit 20 a and the ball removal derivation unit 20 b are included in the gaming machine 100. Since the ball introduction opening 16k is configured to move in the left-right direction, the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b arranged in front and rear (slightly shifted in the left-right direction) are combined. The front-rear width is slightly larger than the front-rear width, and is wider than the left-right width obtained by adding the left-right movement width to the left-right width of the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b.

As shown in FIG. 4, a mounting notch 16i extending from the lower side to the lower end of the discharge receiving portion 16h is formed on the left side surface of the main body 161, and a chute is formed in the mounting notch 16i. 240 is attached.
The chute 240 includes a flow path component 241 that includes two grooves that form the flow paths of two game balls, and a flow path cover 242 that serves as a lid for the groove-shaped flow path of the flow path component 241.
The flow path component member 241 is provided with a front wall portion 244 and a rear wall portion 245 vertically at a right angle to the side wall portion 243 along the front edge portion and the rear edge portion of the side wall portion 243 elongated vertically. A partition wall portion 246 is provided between the front wall portion 244 and the rear wall portion 245 at a right angle to the side wall portion 243.
When a game ball discharged as a prize ball or a rental ball flows from the discharge device 200 to the upper plate, the flow path surrounded by the front wall portion 244, the partition wall portion 246, the side wall portion 243, and the flow path cover 242 flows down. The discharge channel 248 is a part of the channel.

  In addition, a game ball in the storage tank 220 in order that the flow path surrounded by the rear wall part 245, the partition wall part 246, the side wall part 243, and the flow path cover 242 empty the storage tank 220 for maintenance, for example. It is made into the bulb | ball extraction flow path 247 used as a part of flow path for extracting. The discharge flow path 248 and the ball discharge flow path 247 are generally along the vertical direction, but bent portions 24a and 24b for weakening the downward flow of the game ball are formed at two upper and lower positions in the middle. ing.

  Further, the upper end portion of the chute 240 is formed so as to protrude to the right side, so that the left and right widths are wider than the lower side thereof. Has been extensively extended. And the upper end part of this chute | shoot 240 faces the discharge | emission derivation | leading-out part 20a and the derivation | leading-out part 20b for ball removal of the discharge device 200 through the above-mentioned opening part 16k for ball | bowl introduction | transduction. In addition, since the upper end of the chute 240 and the lower end of the discharge lead-out part 20a and the ball discharge lead-out part 20b of the discharge device 200 are slightly spaced vertically (interval shorter than the diameter of the game ball), the chute 240 does not prevent the swinging of the discharge device 200 described later.

  In addition, as described above, the discharge channel 248 and the ball discharge channel 247 are widened so that the left and right widths are expanded to the right side. Even if the extraction lead-out portion 20b moves to the left and right, the game ball can flow down from the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball extraction lead-out portion 20b to the discharge flow path 248 and the ball discharge flow path 247 without any problem.

The upper end opening of the discharge channel 248 extended to the right side is disposed at a position that overlaps with the discharge derivation portion 20a of the discharge device 200, and receives a game ball discharged from the discharge derivation portion 20a. It flows down below the frame 160.
Further, the upper end opening of the ball removal channel 247 extended to the same right side is arranged at a position overlapping with the ball removal lead-out portion 20b of the discharge device 200 so that the game balls discharged from the ball removal lead-out portion 20b can be removed. It is received and made to flow down below the back mechanism frame 160.

In addition, below the chute 240 arranged in the back mechanism frame 160, a game channel (not shown) that receives the game ball that has flowed down the discharge flow channel 248 and guides it to the upper plate, and a game that has flowed down the ball discharge channel 247 A flow path (not shown) for guiding the ball to the collection position of the game ball which has been removed is formed on the front frame body side.
In addition, by arranging the two flow paths in the front and rear two rows rather than the left and right two rows with respect to the gaming machine 100, the left and right width of the chute 240 is made narrower, and the chute 240 is displayed on the side thereof. The arrangement of the unit 170 and the back-and-forth movement are not disturbed.

  From the above configuration, the storage tank 220 in which the discharge device 200 is swingably and integrally provided is arranged in the upper part on the back side of the front frame body 130 (main body frame) to which the game board 1 is detachably attached. A back mechanism frame 160 is provided on the back side of the front frame body 130 as a support means for supporting the display unit 170 that executes a display game in a required area of the game board 1 on the front frame body 130 side. It has become. Thereby, since the display unit 170 is disposed not on the game board 1 but on the front frame main body 130 side, the display unit 170 can be commonly used even when the game board 1 is replaced with a new one. . In addition, since the discharge device 200 is provided integrally with the storage tank 220 and disposed above the front frame body 130, the problem of the arrangement space of the display unit 170 and the back mechanism frame 160 that supports the display unit 170 is solved. Can do. In this example, the display unit 170 is supported on the front side of the back mechanism frame 160, and the discharge device 200 is integrated with the upper part of the back mechanism frame 160 that is above the same height as the upper end of the game board 1. A storage tank 220 is provided.

  Then, a chute 240 is provided on one side of the back mechanism frame 160, that is, on the side of the display unit 170, and causes the game ball discharged from the discharge device 200 to flow downward. However, the chute 240 has a structure that allows the game ball to flow down, and can be configured to have a width that is slightly wider than the diameter of the game ball, for example. However, the display unit 170 can be wide so as to correspond to the left and right width of the game board 1.

Next, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 of the game ball discharge mechanism according to the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 that is swingably attached to the storage tank 220 are attached to the upper part of the back mechanism frame 160 in an integrally assembled state. It is supposed to be.
That is, the gaming ball discharge mechanism of the gaming machine 100 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape having an open top surface, and stores a storage tank 220 that stores game balls supplied from the outside (island equipment supply device), and the storage tank 220 A discharge device 200 is provided on the inclined downstream side of the bottom wall 22a of the tank 220 and provided integrally with the storage tank 220 and capable of discharging a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tank 220.

The integrally assembled storage tank 220 and discharge device 200 are attached to the back mechanism frame 160 so as to extend laterally along the back side of the storage tank 220 while projecting downward from the lower end surface of the storage tank 220. The mounting plate 221 (shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7) and a restricting protrusion 222 (shown in FIGS. 6 to 8) that protrudes to the right from the lower end of the right end of the storage tank 220 when viewed from the front.
As described above, the storage tank 220 integrated with the discharge device 200 is in a state where the bottom surface of the storage tank 220 is placed on the inclined fixed plate 16b of the upper wall 16a of the back mechanism frame 160.
Furthermore, it is set as the state inserted in the control recessed part 16e formed in the level | step difference surface of the above-mentioned 1st level | step-difference part 16d in the state which followed the control protrusion part 222 along the upper surface of the inclination fixing plate 16b.

  Further, the front surface of the mounting plate 221 is brought into contact with the step surface of the second step portion 16f described above, and the mounting plate 221 is fixed to the step surface on the main body portion 161 side of the back mechanism frame 160 with screws or the like. Thereby, the storage tank 220 integrally joined with the discharge device 200 is positioned and fixed to the back mechanism frame 160.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the discharge device 200 is pivoted to the storage tank 220 fixed to the front frame body 130 of the gaming machine 100 via the back mechanism frame 160 (shown in FIG. 6). It is attached so as to be swingable around the position of the upper screw 405. That is, the storage tank 220 is attached to the main body of the gaming machine 100, and the discharge device 200 is attached to the storage tank 220 so as to be swingable around the swing shaft 401.

  Note that the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 are basically integrated, and the boundary between them is not necessarily clear. In addition to 200 (other than the function of discharging the game ball), a part of the configuration of the storage tank 220 (part of the function of storing the game ball to supply the game ball to the discharge device 200) is included. As a name, a portion fixedly fixed to the back mechanism frame 160 is a storage tank 220, and a portion that is swingable with respect to the storage tank 220 is a discharge device 200.

As described above, the tank discharge device 230 includes the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 as shown in FIGS.
The storage tank 220 is one in which a synthetic resin is integrally formed in a box shape that is long in the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100 with the top opened, and is one end side in the longitudinal direction of the storage tank 220 (as viewed from the front of the gaming machine 100). The discharge device 200 is attached to the left end side). The storage tank 220 has a box shape with an open upper surface, but the left end side to which the discharge device 200 is attached is also open, and the left end portion is closed by attaching the discharge device. It is supposed to become a state.

  In addition, on the left end side of the storage tank 220, a dam wall 207 is attached as will be described later, so that the upper part of the portion where the game ball can be stored reaches the left end of the storage tank 220. In a portion from slightly below the upper and lower half to a later-described bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 22, a portion capable of storing a game ball is extended to the discharge device 200 side. The portion from the lower side of the drive source mounting member 206 to the sprocket 210 (to be described later) and the guide portion 22g (to be described later) is a portion that can continuously store the game ball with the storage tank 220. Therefore, the part that functions as a tank for storing the actual game balls is divided into a storage tank 220 and a part on the sprocket 210 as the rotating body of the discharge device 200.

  The discharge device 200 includes a housing 410, a stepping motor 204 serving as a drive source for the discharge device 200, a drive source attachment member 206 for attaching the stepping motor 204 to the housing 410 of the discharge device 200, and a drive source attachment. A dam wall 207 that is provided on the member 206 and blocks the inflow of game balls from the upper side of the storage tank 220 to the discharge device 200 side, and left and right side edges of the dam wall 207 (front and rear in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100) A tank mounting member 402 provided on the side edge portion and attached to the storage tank 220, and a plurality (for example, for receiving the game balls in the storage tank 220 and moving them to the discharge lead-out portion 20a or the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b) Sprocket 210 as a rotating body having about 10 ball receivers 208,... And disposed on the center of sprocket 210. The rotating body upper member 214, the substantially disk-shaped bottom portion 216 that supports the game ball in the discharge device 200 (in the storage portion 203) from below, and the bottom portion 216 that is fixed to the lower end portion of the housing portion are supported. At the same time, the bottom member 218 for supporting the discharge ball detection sensor 217 for detecting the game ball to be discharged and the height of the game ball stacked from the bottom wall 22a (introduction portion 202) on the discharge device 200 side portion of the storage tank 220 are set. And a height limiting member 260 for limiting.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 17, the storage tank 220 constitutes the bottom of the storage tank 220 extending to the left and right, and one end side where the discharge device 200 is provided from the other end side in the left-right direction. A bottom wall 22a having a substantially rectangular shape which is inclined to the left and right and inclined downward toward the right side, a right side wall 22b standing substantially vertically from the right side when viewed from the front of the bottom wall 22a, and a front edge of the bottom wall 22a. The front wall 22c is erected substantially vertically, and the rear wall 22d is erected substantially vertically from the rear edge of the bottom wall 22a. In addition, the part used as the side wall by the side of the discharge device 200 of the storage tank 220 is provided in the discharge device 200. That is, the left side wall 22e having a circular arc plate shape is provided substantially vertically (vertically) on the left end side of the discharge device 200 as a portion that becomes the side wall.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the bottom wall 22a is disposed so as to incline downward from the right to the left when viewed from the front, and further, as shown in FIGS. It slopes down from the front towards the front. Note that the inclination of the bottom wall 22a from right to left causes the game ball stored in the storage tank 220 to flow from the other end to the one end where the discharging device 200 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22a. It is for forming the inclined part 22h for making it. As a result, the inclined portion 22h on the bottom wall 22a has a width within the front and rear that corresponds to a plurality of game balls (for example, about 5 to 10 times the diameter of the game ball) on the bottom wall 22a due to the inclination from right to left. Thus, a plurality of game balls can flow down toward the discharge device 200. Since the inclined portion 22h is the bottom of the storage tank 220 in which game balls are stacked one above the other, the game balls do not necessarily flow linearly but flow irregularly. That is, the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 is inclined downward to one side in the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100, and an inclined portion 22h in which game balls flow irregularly with a plurality of widths is formed.

  Further, the downward inclination from the rear side toward the front side of the bottom wall 22a is along the forward rotation direction of the sprocket 210 as will be described later. In addition, the inclination of the bottom wall 22a is basically described later in the left end portion where the discharge device 200 is provided in both the long side direction (downward inclination from right to left) and the short side direction (downward inclination from rear to front). The annular guide portion 22g on the discharge device 200 side is inclined downward from the outer peripheral side toward the center side, up to the right side (right side) of the annular guide portion 22g. Further, the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 is divided into a storage tank 220 side and a discharge device 200 side at a boundary portion with the annular guide portion 22g, and the discharge device 200 of the bottom wall 22a. The side end portion has a substantially semicircular shape (arc shape) along the outer peripheral edge of the annular guide portion 22g.

The sprocket 210 is arranged inside the guide portion 22g as described later. The forward rotation direction of the sprocket 210 is clockwise (clockwise), and the bottom wall on the right side of the sprocket 210 is placed. In the inclined portion 22h of 22a, the rotation direction of the sprocket 210 is from the rear side to the front side. Therefore, the game ball is guided in the rotational direction of the sprocket 210 by tilting the bottom wall 22a downward and forward from the rear.
That is, the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 is formed with an inclined portion 22h that is inclined downward to one side in the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100, and a guiding portion 22g that is inclined downstream of the inclined portion 22h. Corresponding to the rotation direction of the sprocket 210, the game machine 100 is inclined downward toward the one side in the front-rear direction. The entire inclined portion 22h inclined from right to left does not need to be inclined downward from the rear to the front, and only the left side of the inclined portion 22h (discharge device 200 side) may be inclined downward from the rear to the front. .

As shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 17C, the bottom wall 22a is formed with a guide step 22i that is higher on the rear side and lower on the front side at the left end when viewed from the front of the inclined portion 22h. Has been. The guide step 22i is formed obliquely toward the front side toward the left side (the discharge device 200 side). The step of the guide step 22i is substantially the left and right of the rear edge of the bottom wall 22a. It is formed along a line segment from the central portion toward the approximate center of the annular ring of the annular guiding portion 22g.
That is, a guide step portion 22 i that guides a game ball flowing down to the guide portion 22 g to one side in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 is provided on the inclined portion 22 h corresponding to the rotational direction of the sprocket 210. The guide step 22i is also for guiding the flow of the game ball in the storage tank 220 so as to follow the forward rotation of the sprocket 210.

  The front wall 22c is joined to the front edge side of the right side wall 22b of the storage tank 220, the rear wall 22d is joined to the rear edge side so as to surround the front and rear and the right side, and the bottom wall 22a is closed below It has become. The upper side edges of the right side wall 22b, the front wall 22c, and the rear wall 22d are arranged flush with each other in a substantially horizontal plane. Therefore, the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d are in a state where the upper edge is horizontal and the lower edge is inclined in the same manner as the bottom wall 22a. The storage tank 220 is configured such that the depth increases from the other end toward the one end on the discharge device 200 side.

As shown in FIG. 7, pin holes 403 and 404 are formed in two upper and lower portions on the discharge device 200 side end portions of the front wall 22 c and the rear wall 22 d, respectively. The upper and lower pin holes 403 and 404 are arranged with a space therebetween in the vertical direction. Further, the discharging device 200 is joined to the upper pin hole 403 in a swingable (rotatable) manner by a screw 405 and a retaining ring 406 (or a step screw and a nut, a rivet or the like).
Further, as will be described later, a screw 405 and a retaining ring 406 for restricting the swing range of the discharge device 200 are attached to the lower pin hole 404.

The upper and lower pin holes 403 and 404 are provided above the height limiting member 260. That is, since the pin holes 403 and 404 are provided at the positions where the inflow of the game ball is restricted by the height restricting member 260, the screws 405 and retaining rings inserted into the pin holes 403 and 404 and the pin holes 403 and 404 are provided. Members constituting the swing shaft 401 such as 406 do not affect the flow of the game ball in the storage tank 220.
The casing 410 of the discharge device 200 has a function divided up and down. That is, the housing 410 has a state in which a storage unit 411 that stores game balls together with the upper storage tank 220 and a cylindrical body unit 201 (storage unit 203) that stores the lower sprocket 210 are integrally formed. It has become.

The storage section 411 is an outer peripheral wall of the left side wall 22e constituting the left side wall of the space for storing game balls together with the storage tank 220, and the space for storing the game balls together with the storage tank 220 on the discharge device 200 side. It consists of a guiding portion 22g constituting the bottom wall.
In addition, the storage part 411 has only the height position in which the upper end part was slightly lower than 1/2 of the height of the edge part by the side of the discharge | emission apparatus 200 of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d, and height is mentioned later. The height of the stored game ball is made lower than that of the storage tank 220 by guiding the game ball above the storage unit 411 of the storage tank 220 downward by the restriction member 260.

Further, a substantially horizontal drive source mounting member 206 is disposed on the storage portion 411 as described later, and the upper surface side of the storage portion 411 is closed.
And the left side wall 22e is arrange | positioned with respect to the storage tank 220 over the front-back direction of the game machine 100, and obstruct | occludes the discharge apparatus 200 side edge part of the storage tank 220 open | released.
And the front side edge part of the left side wall 22e is arrange | positioned in the front-back position substantially the same as the front wall 22c of the storage tank 220, and is arrange | positioned along the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100 substantially continuously with the front wall 22c. Further, the rear side end portion of the left side wall 22e is arranged at substantially the same front-rear position as the rear wall 22d of the storage tank 220, and is arranged along the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100 substantially continuously with the rear wall 22d.

  It should be noted that the side edge (left end) of the front wall 22c and rear wall 22d of the storage tank on the discharge device 200 side and the front edge and rear end side edge of the left side wall 22e are separated. In the normal state, the side edges of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d and the front edge and the rear edge of the left side wall 22e are substantially in contact with each other (first state described later). When the apparatus 200 swings from the normal state (when it swings to the second state to be described later), the apparatus 200 is slightly separated, but does not separate longer than the diameter of the game ball, and is caused by the swinging of the discharging apparatus 200. There is no such thing as a game ball flowing out of the gap. Even if the side edge portions of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d and the front edge and rear end side edge portions of the left side wall 22e are overlapped in the front-rear direction, a gap is generated even if the discharge device 200 swings. You may make it not.

And the front side edge part and rear side edge part of the left side wall 22e are in the state connected by the main body of the substantially semicircular left side wall 22e on the opposite side of the storage tank 220, and are surrounded by this left side wall 22e. This portion becomes the storage portion 411 of the discharge device 200.
The arc plate-shaped main body of the left side wall 22e is formed in a semicircular shape (arc shape) centering on the rotation center of the sprocket 210.
The guiding portion 22g constituting the bottom of the storage portion 411 is formed in an annular shape having an opening 22f inside. Further, the cylindrical portion of the upper end portion of the cylindrical body portion 201 having a substantially cylindrical shape has substantially the same diameter as the opening portion 22f, and the lower portion of the guiding portion 22g surrounds the entire opening portion 22f. It is in a state of being integrally connected to the peripheral edge.

Further, the guide portion 22g has a diameter on the outer peripheral portion side that is substantially equal to the interval between the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d of the storage tank 220 (for example, the front-rear width of the inclined portion 22h). A guiding portion 22g is formed across the entire width of the gaming machine 100 in the front-rear direction.
That is, the length of the inclined portion 22h in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 and the length of the outer diameter of the guide portion 22g are configured to be substantially the same. As will be described later, when the guide portion 22g is also included in the introduction portion 202, the introduction portion 202 is also formed over the entire width along the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 inside the storage tank 220. .

  Moreover, the lower end part of the above-mentioned left side wall 22e is made into the state integrally joined to the outer-periphery edge part of the semicircle part which becomes the other side of the storage tank 220 of the outer peripheral part of the guidance | induction part 22g. And the left side wall 22e is not connected to the outer peripheral part of the arc-shaped semicircle part by the side of the storage tank 220 of the induction | guidance | derivation part 22g, and the arc concave side by the side of the discharge device 200 of the bottom wall 22a so that it may mention later. It is arranged below the edge. And the overlapping part which overlaps with the above-mentioned side edge part of the bottom wall 22a is formed in the side edge part by the side of the storage tank 220 of the guidance part 22g along the outer periphery of the guidance part 22g.

  As described above, the guide portion 22g is inclined downward from the outer peripheral portion toward the center, and guides the game ball to fall into the opening 22f. Note that the sprocket 210 is disposed below the opening 22f, and the ball receivers 208, 208 are aligned in the circumferential direction along the outer periphery of the sprocket 210 at a position near the inner periphery of the guide 22g. Are formed, and the guiding portion 22g guides the game ball to the ball receiving portions 208,... In the opening 22f. Further, the above-described ball receiving portions 208,... Are arranged at an annular interval from the inner peripheral side of the guiding portion 22g to the rotation guiding portion 21f described later, and this interval is the ball receiving portion 208,. The game ball that is received in is introduced portion 202 that is introduced from storage tank 220 into discharge device 200.

Therefore, due to the relationship between the guide portion 22g and the inclined portion 22h, the introduction portion 202 is formed on the inclined downstream side of the inclined portion 22h.
In addition, the width (difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter) between the outer circumference and the inner circumference of the guide portion 22g corresponds to the diameter of the game ball. For example, the width is equal to or greater than the diameter of the game ball. It is supposed to be 2 times or less. In addition, the outer peripheral portion that is the highest position in the guide portion 22g is lower than the end portion on the discharge device 200 side that is the lowest position of the inclined portion 22h that is inclined downward toward the discharge device 200 side of the bottom wall 22a. A step having a steep inclination is formed between the inclined portion 22h and the guiding portion 22g.

As described above, the guide device 22g on the discharge device 200 side and the inclined portion 22h on the storage tank 220 side are separate from each other, and the discharge device for the bottom wall 22a serving as the lower end of the inclined portion 22h. The semicircular convex end portion on the storage tank 220 side of the guiding portion 22g is arranged below the semicircular concave end portion on the 200 side.
In the state, as will be described later, the upper surface of the end portion on the storage tank 220 side of the guide portion 22g is in contact with the lower surface of the end portion on the discharge device 200 side of the bottom wall 22a.
A rib that slightly protrudes downward along the semicircular concave end of the bottom wall 22a on the discharge device 200 side is formed on the lower surface of the end portion of the bottom wall 22a on the discharge device 200 side. The upper surface of the overlapping part which becomes the outer peripheral edge part of the storage tank side of the guide part 22g comes into contact with the lower end.
Moreover, the guide part 22g is orthogonal to the length direction which goes to the edge part by the side of the discharge device 200 from the edge part which is the other side of the discharge device 200 of the storage tank 220 with the discharge device 200 as a part of the discharge device 200. The rocking shaft 401 formed along the direction, that is, the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 oscillates left and right along the length direction of the storage tank 220. At this time, the guiding portion 22g is inclined by swinging, and at the storage tank side 220 portion of the guiding portion 22g, the inclination angle along the length direction of the storage tank 220 is changed to be small. Even when the inclination angle becomes the smallest, the state where the guide portion 22g is inclined downward from the outer peripheral edge side to the inner peripheral edge side is maintained. That is, the inclination angle of the guide portion 22g is larger than the angle that makes the swinging range of the discharge device 200.

  As shown in FIGS. 15, 16, 18, and the like, the cylindrical body portion 201 has an inner periphery that is substantially the same diameter as the opening 22 f of the guide portion 22 g and serves as a storage portion 203 main body that stores the sprocket 210. . The cylindrical body portion 201 includes a cylindrical first cylindrical body 21a that is an upper portion of the cylindrical body portion 201 connected to the bottom wall 22a, and a lower portion of the cylindrical body portion 201 that has an inner diameter that is larger than that of the first cylindrical body 21a. The second cylindrical body 21b, which is smaller than the first cylindrical body 21b, is disposed between the first cylindrical body 21a and the second cylindrical body 21b, and is disposed in a state in which the first cylindrical body 21a and the second cylindrical body 21b are connected. It has an intermediate cylinder 21c.

  The 1st cylinder 21a is formed in the cylindrical shape of the same diameter over the up-down direction. As described above, the second cylinder 21b has a smaller diameter than the first cylinder 21a and is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same diameter in the upward direction. However, the second cylinder 21b is provided on the bottom 216 having the discharge outlet 20a. A notch 21d is formed in a portion corresponding to a later-described lead-out convex portion 21i. The intermediate cylinder 21c has an upper end formed continuously with the first cylinder 21a and the same diameter as the first cylinder 21a, and a lower end formed continuously with the second cylinder 21b. It has the same diameter as the two cylinders 21b and is formed in a cylindrical shape and a truncated cone shape so that the diameter decreases from the upper end toward the lower end. Therefore, the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate cylinder 21c is an inclined surface that is inclined downward from the outside to the inside.

Further, in the boundary part between the second cylinder 21b and the intermediate cylinder 21c and above the range from the discharge lead-out part 20a to the ball discharge lead-out part 20b formed on the bottom part 216, As shown in 9, 10, 21 and 22, ribs 21e are formed along the inner periphery projecting toward the center side of the cylindrical portion 201 (the center direction of the sprocket 210). This is when the lowest game ball of the game balls received in the upper and lower stages by the ball receiving portions 208,... Is led downward from the discharge derivation portion 20a or the ball removal derivation portion 20b. The ribs 21e prevent the game balls from being led out together. That is, as will be described later, the game ball arranged between the outer peripheral portion of the sprocket 210 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 201 does not have much play, so that it cannot flow downward by the slightly protruding rib 21e. .
That is, in the required range above the outlets (the discharge outlet 20a and the ball outlet outlet 20b) in the side wall (tubular body 201) of the storage part 203, one step higher than the lowermost stage in the ball receivers 208,. A rib 21e for preventing the upper game ball from flowing down to the discharge outlet 20a and the ball outlet 20b (to hold the game ball in the ball receiver 208,...) In the center of the sprocket 210. It is protruding. In other words, a game ball that is one stage higher than the lowest stage in the ball receiving portion 208,... Is held in the ball receiving portion 208,. Ribs are formed.

Further, as described later, when the sprocket 210 rotates in the forward direction, the game ball is derived from the discharge derivation unit 20a, and when rotated in the reverse direction, the game ball is derived from the ball removal derivation unit 20b. When the sprocket 210 rotates in the direction, the game ball is not led out from both the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b. This is because the rib 21e is formed over a range from the discharge lead-out portion 20a to the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b. That is, for example, the sprocket 210 rotates forward, and the lowermost game ball of the ball receiving portion 208 is led out at the discharge lead-out portion 20a. At this time, the upper game ball is lowered by the rib 21e. Movement to is restricted.
Thereby, there is no game ball in the lowermost part of the ball receiving unit 208. In this state, when the ball receiving portion 208 moves from the discharge lead-out portion 20a to the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b, the game ball above the bottom is still restricted from moving downward by the rib 21e. Therefore, there is no game ball at the bottom of the ball receiving unit 208,...

Then, when the ball receiving portions 208,... Pass through the portion of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b, the second and subsequent gaming balls move down one step from the bottom in the ball receiving portions 208,. When the game ball is arranged at the bottom and again moves to the discharge derivation unit 20a, the game ball can be derived. Also, there is no game ball in the uppermost stage of the ball receivers 208,..., And a new game ball can be received.
In addition, when the sprocket 210 is rotated in the reverse direction, the discharge derivation unit 20a and the ball extraction derivation unit 20b are switched, and the game ball is derived from the ball extraction derivation unit 20b, and the discharge derivation unit The game ball is not derived from 20a.

  A half-end sensor 22k (shown by a broken line in FIG. 8) is disposed on the front side of the lower portion of the storage tank 220 and on the front side of the discharge device 200 side. This half-end sensor 22k basically does not reach the number of discharges at one time when the remaining amount of game balls in the storage tank 220 is less than the maximum number of game balls to be paid out at one time. This prevents the odd number of game balls from being paid out. The half-end sensor 22k prevents the discharge device 200 from operating even when there is no game ball in the storage tank 220. The half-end sensor 22k is composed of a sensor that detects a game ball, such as a proximity sensor that detects the game ball in a non-contact manner, and the signal for detecting the game ball from the half-end sensor 22k is interrupted (no game ball is detected). Until the signal indicating that the game ball is supplied from the island facility side and the game ball is detected from the half-end sensor 22k is input. Control to stop the discharge of the ball.

  Further, the supply of game balls to the storage tank 220 is controlled by a game ball supply device provided in the island facility, and a sensor for detecting the amount of game balls stored in the storage tank 220 is: For example, when the gaming machine 100 is installed, it is set corresponding to the storage tank 220 when connected to the game ball supply device side.

As described above, the space for storing the game balls is formed over both the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200, but the right side wall 22b surrounding the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220, the front The height of the left wall 22e that surrounds the opposite side of the storage tank 220 of the guide portion 22g of the discharge device 200 is lower than the height of the wall 22c and the rear wall 22d.
Therefore, if the game balls are replenished so that the storage tank 220 is almost full, the game balls overflow from the end of the storage tank 220 on the discharge device 200 side. On the other hand, the game ball leaks from the left side wall 22e portion of the discharge device 200 in which the drive source mounting member 206 for fixing the stepping motor 204 serving as the drive source of the discharge device 200 to the storage tank 220 is lowered. It functions as a lid that prevents this.

The drive source mounting member 206 has a shape obtained by extending a thin plate having a semicircular diameter width to a semicircular plate, and the semicircular portion is formed on the main body of the left-side wall 22e having a semicircular shape. It arrange | positions and it is arrange | positioned in the state extended over the front-and-back end part of the left side wall 22e.
The drive source mounting member 206 is a storage part surrounded by the left side wall 22e of the discharge device 200 that is one step lower than the walls (right side wall 22b, front wall 22c, rear wall 22d) surrounding the bottom wall of the storage tank 220. The top of 411 is closed.

In addition, the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d of the drive source mounting member 206 are disposed on the side edge of the discharge device 200 side, that is, the side edge opposite to the arcuate side edge. A dam wall 207 erected vertically is attached along the side edge.
The dam wall 207 prevents the game ball from flowing out to the drive source mounting member 206 side from the steps between the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d and the left side wall 22e. In this example, the height restricting member 260 is disposed on the right side (the other end side) of the dam wall 207, and the height restricting member 260 dams the game ball, so the dam wall 207 dams the game ball. Although it is not necessary, if the game ball repels and rests on the height limiting member 260, the game ball can be prevented from falling.

  Further, the dam wall 207 has a function as a reinforcing member of the drive source mounting member 206 by being provided on the drive source mounting member 206. In addition, tank attachment members 402 are respectively provided on the left and right side edges of the dam wall 207 (front and rear side edges in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100). The tank mounting member 402 is a rectangular plate-like member that extends vertically from the front and rear side edges of the dam wall 207 to the storage tank 220 side and that is long in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 is disposed outside the front wall 22 c (rear wall 22 d) of the storage tank 220 in parallel with the front wall 22 c (rear wall). In this state, the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) is substantially in contact (contact or in close proximity).
In addition, the portion that is inside the joint portion between the front and rear side edge portions of the dam wall 207 and the front and rear tank mounting members 402 is opened up and down along the joint portion in a state of opening toward the storage tank 220 side. A groove portion 412 is formed, and the width of the groove portion 412 in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 is slightly wider than the thickness of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d.

The front and rear grooves 412 are in a state in which the side edges of the front wall 22c or the rear wall 22d on the discharge device 200 side are inserted.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the front and rear tank mounting members 402 are formed with a circular hole 413 in the upper part, and are formed in an arc shape that protrudes downward in a portion slightly above the central part below. An arc-shaped long hole 414 that is a long hole formed is formed. Further, the center of the circle that forms the arc of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 is the position of the circular hole 413.

  The circular hole 413 of the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 in a state where the side edges of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d are inserted into the groove 412, that is, in a state where the discharge device 200 is mounted to the storage tank 220. Screw 405 so that it overlaps with the pin hole 403 on the upper side of the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) of the storage tank 220 and penetrates the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d). It can be inserted through the circular hole 413 and the upper pin hole 403.

  Further, in the state where the discharge device 200 is attached to the storage tank 220 as described above, the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 of the front (rear) tank attachment member 402 is located below the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) of the storage tank 220. The screw 405 is inserted into the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 and the lower pin hole 404 so as to overlap with the pin hole 404 and penetrate the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d). Can do.

  The screw 405 has a retaining ring 406 attached at a position opposite to the head of the screw 405 in a state where the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) are penetrated. The head of the screw 405 and the retaining ring 406 prevent the screw 405 from coming out of the circular hole 413 and the upper pin hole 403 or the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 and the lower pin hole 404. 405 is configured to maintain a substantially orthogonal state with respect to the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) without being inclined.

  A member (here, a screw) that penetrates the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) through the pin holes 403 and 404, the circular hole 413, and the arc-shaped elongated hole 414. 405) need only be able to hold the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d) without being fastened. For example, step screws and nuts, various rivets, etc. Can be used.

  As described above, screws 405 are provided as pins in the upper circular hole 413 of the tank mounting member 402 provided in the discharge device 200 and the upper pin hole 403 of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d provided in the storage tank 220. By being inserted, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 are rotatably (pinned) joined. That is, the screw 405 is swung by inserting the screw 405 through the circular hole 413 and the upper pin hole 403 so as to pass through the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d). As the shaft 401, the discharge device 200 can swing with respect to the storage tank 220 fixed to the back mechanism frame 160.

  In addition, in the state where the screw 405 is inserted through the arc-shaped long hole 414 and the lower pin hole 404 so as to penetrate the front (rear) tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c (rear wall 22d), When the discharging device 200 swings around the screw 405 inserted through the upper circular hole 413 and the pin hole 403, the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 in a state where the screw 405 is inserted corresponding to the swinging of the discharging device 200. Oscillates with respect to the screw 405 inserted.

  At this time, the lower screw 405 (the screw inserted into the arc-shaped elongated hole 414) is centered on the upper screw 405 (the screw inserted into the circular hole 413) along the arc-shaped elongated hole 414. (In reality, the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 moves relative to the screw 405). Here, when the screw 405 reaches the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414, the screw 405 cannot move any more, and the swinging of the discharge device 200 is restricted. That is, the range from the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 to the end is the range in which the screw 405 can move, and this is the swingable range of the discharge device 200.

Therefore, the position of the swing shaft 401 along the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 is determined by the position of the circular hole 413 of the tank mounting member 402, and both end portions of the circular arc-shaped elongated hole 414 centering on the circular hole 413. Depending on the position, the swing range around the swing shaft 401 of the discharge device 200 is determined. Therefore, when the opposite end of the storage tank 220 of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 reaches the position of the lower screw 405, the swing range of the lower part of the discharge device 200 toward the storage tank 220 is restricted.
Here, since the position of the circular hole 413 is the upper end of the end of the discharge device 200 on the storage tank 220 side, the lower portion of the discharge device 200 is pressed toward the storage tank 220 by the weight of the discharge device 200. Thus, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 are in the closest state. Here, the position is determined by the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 on the storage tank 220 side. By the way, before the opposite end of the storage tank 220 of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 reaches the position of the lower screw 405, the side edge of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d on the discharge device 200 side is the tank mounting member 402. The storage tank 220 of the discharge device 200 is inserted into the groove portion 412 that is a joint portion between the dam wall 207 and the lower end portion of the joint portion and the lower end portions of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d abut. Swinging to the side is restricted.
That is, the front wall provided in the storage tank 220 at the dam wall 207 (joint portion between the dam wall 207 and the tank mounting member 402) as described above, not at the position of the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 on the storage tank 220 side. The lower end portion of the side edge on the discharge device 200 side of 22c and the rear wall 22d may be in contact with each other, so that the swing range of the lower portion of the discharge device 200 toward the storage tank 220 side may be restricted.

  In addition, the ball pressure of the game ball due to the inclination of the inclined portion 22h, the rotation of the stepping motor 204 as a drive source, the rotation of the sprocket 210, and the discharge of the game ball accompanying this rotation to the outside of the discharge device 200 When the lower part of the discharge device 200 swings away from the storage tank 220 against the pressing force due to its own weight due to the movement of the storage tank 220 or the like, the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 of the tank mounting member 402 on the side of the storage tank 220 Is inserted into the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 and the screw hole 404 to reach the position of the screw 405 held by the tank mounting member 402 and the front wall 22c or the rear wall 22d, and the side edge of the end of the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 The screw 405 comes into contact with this, and the swinging of the discharging device 200 beyond that is restricted.

  Note that the above-described swinging shaft 401 is along the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100, but from the other end of the storage tank 220 that is on the opposite side of the discharge device 200 along the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100, It is a direction crossing the inclined portion 22h on the bottom wall 22a formed so as to be inclined downward toward one end portion on the discharge device 200 side. Further, as described above, the state in which the lower portion of the discharge device 200 is inclined toward the storage tank 220 due to its own weight is defined as the first state, and the storage tank 220 is maintained from this state until the lower portion of the discharge device 200 is regulated by the arc-shaped elongated hole 414. The state inclined in the direction away from is defined as the second state. In this case, the first state can be said to be a state in which the discharge device 200 is inclined toward the upstream side of the inclined portion 22h. In addition, the second state can be said to be a state in which the discharge device 200 is inclined toward the downstream side of the inclined portion 22h.

  Accordingly, the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 is inclined to the one side in the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100 to form an inclined portion 22h in which game balls flow irregularly with a plurality of widths, and swings in a direction crossing the inclined portion 22h. A shaft 401 is provided, and the discharge device 200 can swing between a first state located in the inclined upstream direction of the inclined portion 22h and a second state located in the inclined downstream direction of the inclined portion 22h, and the own weight of the discharge device 200 is provided. Therefore, it is biased to the first state.

  Moreover, the outer peripheral part of the semicircular part by the side of the storage tank 200 of the guidance | induction part 22g provided in the discharge device 200 is arrange | positioned under the discharge device 200 side edge part of the bottom wall 22a which comprises the storage tank 220 as mentioned above. Has been. And in the above-mentioned 1st state, it is the state which the overlap part used as the outer peripheral part of the guidance | induction part 22g contact | abutted to the lower surface of the edge part of the bottom wall 22a. This configuration also restricts the swing range of the discharge device 200 toward the first state. When the discharge device 200 swings to the second state side, the overlapping portion of the guide portion 22g formed from the end portion of the bottom wall 22a moves further downward. That is, when the guide portion 22g for guiding the game ball to the ball receiving portion 208 of the sprocket 210 is a part of the introduction portion 202 for introducing the game ball from the storage tank 220 to the ball receiving portion 208, the introduction portion 202 is provided in the discharge device 200. And the upstream end portion of the introduction portion 202 overlaps with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion 22h. When the discharge device 200 changes from the first state to the second state, the upstream portion of the introduction portion 202 is upstream. The end portion moves downward. By doing in this way, even if the discharge device 200 swings, the guiding portion 22g does not move above the inclined portion 22 on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22a, and the gaming ball from the inclined portion 22h to the guiding portion 22g side. It is designed not to hinder the flow of water.

The drive source mounting member 206 has a flat bottom surface, and a reinforcing rib and a mounting member for the stepping motor 204 are formed on the top surface side. Further, a through-hole penetrating the rotation shaft of the stepping motor 204 is formed at the center of the semicircle portion of the drive source mounting member 206.
That is, the drive source mounting member 206 supports the stepping motor 204 on the upper side thereof.

Further, the side edge portion of the drive source mounting member 206 on the side where the dam wall 207 is provided, that is, the side edge portion facing the end side opposite to the end portion where the discharge device 200 of the storage tank 220 is provided. As will be described later, the mounting portion 26a of the height limiting member 260 is attached.
Further, the drive source mounting member 206 is formed with a fixed piece 20x projecting outward at a plurality of positions on the outer peripheral portion with a space between each other. Then, the drive source mounting member 206 is fixed to the storage tank 220 by screwing the fixing piece 20x to the boss 20y formed to protrude outside the storage portion 411 on the left side wall 22e. . That is, the tank mounting member 402 is connected to the drive source mounting member 206 to which the tank mounting member 402 is mounted via the dam wall 207, by connecting the stepping motor 204 and the casing 410 having the left side wall 22e. The entire discharge device 200 is attached to the storage tank 220 via the drive source attachment member 206 that is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and FIGS. 14 to 17, at the side edge of the drive source mounting member 206 on the dam wall 207 side, the height of the stacked game balls flowing down the inclined portion 22 h and flowing into the introduction portion 202 is stacked. A height restricting member 260 is provided over the storage tank 220 in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100.
The height restriction member 260 includes an attachment portion 261 attached to the drive source attachment member 206, an extension portion 262 extending to the upstream side of the inclination portion of the attachment portion 261, and a distal end portion of the extension portion 262. It has a curved portion 263 that curves and extends upward.
Note that the attachment portion 261, the extending portion 262, and the bending portion 263 are not necessarily separated from each other by a clear boundary, and each comb tooth portion of the height limiting member 260 that has a comb shape as described below. 264,... Are integrally formed with a mounting portion 261, an extending portion 262, and a bending portion 263.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 17, from the attachment portion 261 to the distal end of the bending portion 263, there is an interval in the front-rear direction along the inclination of the inclined portion in the left-right direction (the left-right direction of the gaming machine). .. (Notches) are formed so that the height restricting member 260 is cut into each of the comb teeth portions 264... Completely by the cut portions 265 and. It has a separated comb-like shape.
Further, the gap between the notches 265,... In the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine 100 or the width of the comb teeth portions 264,... In the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine 100 is substantially equal to the diameter of the gaming ball.
The height restricting member 260 is made of a synthetic resin having elasticity, and can be bent by being elastically deformed for each comb tooth portion 264... When an external force is applied.

That is, the height limiting member 260 includes an attachment portion 261 attached to the storage tank 220 on the inclined downstream side of the inclined portion 22h, an extending portion 262 extending from the attaching portion 261 to the inclined upstream side of the inclined portion 22h, A curved portion 263 that curves upward from the extended portion 262, and is formed into a plurality of comb teeth from the attachment portion 261 to the distal end of the curved portion 263, and each comb tooth The parts 264,... Are configured to bend by the pressure of the game ball flowing down the inclined part 22h.
Further, the height limiting member 260 is provided with notches (notches 265,...) Corresponding to the approximate diameter of the game ball.

When the game balls are stored on the inclined portion 22h in the storage tank 220 so as to be stacked higher than the lower surface of the drive source mounting member 206 by the height limiting member 260, the curved portion of the height limiting member 260 is mainly used. 263 dams up and guides the game ball above the extended portion 262 at substantially the same height as the drive source mounting member 206, and the extended portion 262 is disposed on the discharge device 200 side from the curved portion 263. Thus, the height at which the game balls are stacked is set to be lower than the extending portion 262, and the height at which the game balls are stacked gradually decreases toward the attachment portion 261.
At this time, the height restricting member 260 is elastically deformed for each comb tooth portion 264,... And the upper side is restricted by the height restricting member 260 and the stacked game balls are engaged with each other to form a bridge. Can be prevented.

Further, the game balls stacked on the sprocket 210 and the rotating member upper member 214 which are the rotating bodies exposed on the inner peripheral side (introducing portion 202) of the guiding portion 22g by the height limiting member 260 and the drive source mounting member 206. The height is limited to prevent clogging of the ball at the portion where the drive source mounting member 206 is provided, and the influence of the ball pressure based on the load of the game ball on the rotation of the sprocket 210 and the rotating body upper member 214 Is limiting.
As described above, since the mounting portion 261 of the height limiting member 260 is attached to the drive source mounting member 206, vibration during operation of the stepping motor 204 is caused to the height limiting member 260 via the drive source mounting member 206. Therefore, when the ball is bitten and a bridge is formed, the bridge can be broken by the vibration, and the clogging of the ball can be reliably prevented.

Further, the side edge of the driving source mounting member 206 on the side of the dam wall 207 opposite to the left side wall 22e is slightly inclined 22h from the rotation center of the sprocket 210, and is attached to this side edge. The mounting portion 261 of the height limiting member 260 is disposed on the sprocket 210 which is a rotating body except for the front end portion and the rear end portion. That is, a part of the attachment portion 261 is located immediately above the sprocket 210.
And since the attachment part 261 attached to the drive source attachment member 206 is in a state where it hardly bends, it cannot be expected that the ball clogging is released due to the bending, but the rotational force of the sprocket 210 under the attachment part 261 is caused by the game ball. Therefore, even if a bridge is generated on the lower side of the mounting portion 261, the bridge can be broken by the rotational force or vibration generated by the rotation of the sprocket 210, and ball clogging can be prevented.

Further, since the height limiting member 260 is provided on the drive source mounting member 206, it can swing integrally with the discharge device 200 with respect to the storage tank 220. Therefore, when the discharge device 200 swings with respect to the storage tank 220, the height restricting member 260 moves up and down, and the game balls engage with each other under the height restricting member 260 to form a bridge, thereby blocking the balls. In such a case, the ball clogging can be eliminated.
Since the height restricting member 260 can move up and down, the height restricting member 260 does not have to be comb-shaped to be easily bent, and the height restricting member 260 may have a plate shape without the cut 265. . Further, the height limiting member 260 may be linear without forming a curve. For example, by extending the extension portion 262 or making the inclination angle abrupt, the distal end portion of the extension portion 262 may be formed. It is good also as a structure which abbreviate | omitted the curved part 263 by making it reach the upper end part of the storage tank 220 similarly to the front-end | tip part of the curved part 263. FIG.

Below, each component which comprises the discharge apparatus 200 with the above-mentioned cylinder part 201 is demonstrated.
Here, the discharge device 200 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis set in the vertical direction (substantially perpendicular) and receives a game ball from the introduction portion 202 into which the game ball of the storage tank 220 is introduced. Is provided with a sprocket 210 having a plurality of ball receiving portions 208,... And receives the game balls in the ball receiving portions 208,... One unit is led out to the part 20a or the lead-out part 20b for ball removal.

The stepping motor 204 is a motor that rotates by a predetermined angle every time one pulse of drive power is input, and rotates in accordance with the pulse power output from the discharge control board 34. Note that the stepping motor 204 is controlled so as to be able to rotate, for example, by a rotation angle at which one game ball can be paid out, and receives a game ball on the outer peripheral portion of the sprocket 210 as described later. The ball receiving portions 208,... Are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction so that the game balls can be received by the ball receiving portions 208,. Therefore, the stepping motor 204 can rotate by 1/10 rotation. The discharge control board 34 controls to rotate the stepping motor 204 in accordance with the number of game balls to be paid out, and the stepping motor 204 rotates by multiplying the number of game balls to be paid out by 1/10. It will be rotated by a number.
A specific example of control of the stepping motor 204 will be described later.

  Further, as described above, the stepping motor 204 is disposed on the upper side of the drive source mounting member 206 with the rotary shaft 20z directed downward substantially vertically. Then, the sprocket 210 is fixed to the lower side of the stepping motor 204. That is, a stepping motor 204 as a drive source for driving the sprocket 210 as a rotating body is attached above the sprocket 210 by a drive source attachment member 206. Thereby, the stepping motor 204 does not protrude greatly below the storage tank 220 as in the case where the stepping motor 204 is provided below the sprocket 210, and the discharge device 200 can be arranged in a compact manner.

  Further, the drive source mounting member 206 is fixed on the left side wall 22e whose upper edge portion is lower than the upper edge portions of the right side wall 22b, the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d of the storage tank 220. The member 206 is disposed at a position lower than the upper edge of the storage tank 220 by a distance that is about half the vertical width of the deepest portion of the storage tank 220. Therefore, even if the stepping motor 204 is disposed on the drive source mounting member 206, the length of the stepping motor 204 protruding above the storage tank 220 can be made small, and the storage tank 220 and the discharge device can be reduced. The combined size of 200 can be made compact.

As shown in FIG. 18 and the like, the rotating member upper member 214 is attached to the rotating shaft 20z of the stepping motor 204 so as to be rotatable integrally with the rotating shaft 20z. That is, the rotary shaft 20z is inserted into the insertion port provided at the center of the rotating member upper member 214, and the rotating shaft 20z and the rotating member upper member 214 are joined so as not to rotate.
Then, the sprocket 210 is fixed to the lower end portion of the rotating member upper member 214, and the rotating member upper member 214 and the sprocket 210 rotate integrally around its axis, that is, around the rotating shaft 20z of the stepping motor 204. . Note that the rotation axis of the stepping motor 204 is arranged to be substantially vertical (vertical), and the central axis of rotation of the rotating body upper member 214 and the sprocket 210 is also substantially vertical.
The rotating member upper member 214 has a rotation guide part 21f whose lower part is formed in a disk shape, and an upper part of the rotating body upper member 214 that extends upward from the center part of the rotation guide part 21f. Has been. That is, an extension portion 21g extending upward along the rotation axis 20z is provided inside the rotation guide portion 21f of the sprocket 210.

The rotation guide portion 21f is formed in a disc shape, but since the extension portion 21g is disposed at the center portion thereof, the rotation guide portion 21f has an annular structure, and the upper surface thereof extends from the center side to the outer peripheral side. Inclined down. The width from the inner peripheral edge to the outer peripheral edge of the rotation guiding portion 21f is, for example, not less than the diameter of the game ball and not more than twice the diameter.
And between the induction | guidance | derivation part 22g formed in the discharge apparatus 200 side edge part of the bottom wall 22a of the above-mentioned storage tank 220, and the rotation induction | guidance | derivation part 21f arrange | positioned inside it, it is slightly from the diameter of a game ball. There is a wide gap. This interval is formed in an annular shape between the inner peripheral edge of the annular guide portion 22g and the outer peripheral edge of the annular guide portion 21f. Further, all of the portions opened above the ball receiving portions 208,... Provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion of the sprocket 210 are exposed below the spacing portion.

  Then, the game balls in the storage tank 220 are introduced into the ball receiving portions 208,... Exposed at the interval between the guiding portion 22g and the rotation guiding portion 21f, and are rotated with the guiding portion 22g. An annular space between the guide portion 21 f and the guide portion 21 f is an introduction portion 202 that introduces a game ball into the discharge device 200.

  In the above description, the introduction part 202 is between the guiding part 22g and the rotation guiding part 21f. However, the guiding part 22g and the rotation guiding part 21f are arranged at intervals between them. Since the game ball is to be introduced into the introduction part 202, the introduction part 202 may include the guide part 22g and the rotation guide part 21f.

In this case, the introduction portion 202 is provided on the bottom wall 22a, surrounds the outer periphery of the sprocket 210, is formed in a circle with a width of approximately one game ball, and is inclined downward toward the sprocket 210 side to receive the ball receiving portion 208. ,... Are guided circularly on the upper surface of the sprocket 210, and are inclined downward from the rotating shaft toward the ball receivers 208,... To guide the game balls to the ball receivers 208,. And a rotation guiding portion 21f.
In addition, the height position of the inner peripheral part where the guide part 22g is lowest and the outer peripheral part where the rotation guide part 21f is lowest are substantially the same.

  Here, when a game ball is stored on the guiding portion 22g, the ball receiving portion 208,..., The rotation guiding portion 21f of the storage tank 220 so as to completely cover them, the guiding portion 22g, the ball receiving portion 208, ..., a game ball is arranged on the rotation guiding portion 21f. In addition, in a state where the game balls are fully poured into the ball receiving portions 208,..., The game balls are also accumulated on the ball receiving portions 208,. Accordingly, the introduction unit 202 can wait in three rows of concentric circles on the guiding unit 22g, the ball receiving unit 208,... And the rotation guiding unit 21f.

  As described above, the diameter of the annular guide portion 22g having a width corresponding to the diameter of the game ball and the front-rear width of the storage tank 220, that is, the front-rear width of the bottom wall 22a whose upper surface is the inclined portion 22h are substantially equal. Therefore, the length of the inclined portion 22h in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 and the length of the introduction portion 202 in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 are configured to be substantially the same. Further, all (plural) ball receiving portions 208 of the sprocket 210 face the introduction portion 202 into which the game balls from the storage tank 220 are introduced.

  The extending portion 21g has a height that is about twice or more the diameter of the game ball, and has a diameter that is about the diameter of the game ball at the thinnest upper end portion. Then, by arranging the extending portion 21g on the central portion of the sprocket 210, it is possible to prevent the game ball from staying on the central portion of the sprocket 210, and to rotate the extending portion 21g to the extending portion 21g. The contact of the game balls in contact with each other is broken so that the game balls can smoothly flow toward the introduction portion 202 side.

  The sprocket 210 has a plurality of the above-described ball receiving portions 208,... On its outer peripheral portion, and its vertical height is longer than twice the diameter of the game ball, excluding the rotating shaft portion 20n described later. It is slightly shorter than 3 times. Each of the ball receiving portions 208,... Of the sprocket 210 can receive game balls in three upper and lower stages, and the sprocket 210 has a first rotating body 20p as an upper portion and a second rotating body as a lower portion. 20q, and an intermediate rotating body 20r that is intermediate between the first rotating body and the second rotating body.

  Moreover, the sprocket 210 is in a state of being accommodated in the cylindrical portion 201, and the first rotating body 20p is accommodated in the first cylindrical body 21a having the largest inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 201, and the smallest inner diameter is obtained. The second rotating body 20q is accommodated in the two cylinders 21b, and an intermediate rotating body 20r that is intermediate between the first rotating body 20p and the second rotating body 20q is provided between the first cylinder 21a and the second cylinder 21b. Is accommodated in the intermediate cylinder 21c. Actually, the first rotating body 20p, the intermediate rotating body 20r, and the second rotating body of the sprocket 210 are respectively connected to the lower ends of the first cylinder 21a, the intermediate cylinder 21c, and the second cylinder 21b of the cylinder portion 201. Each lower end of the rotating body 20q is slightly raised, so that the intermediate rotating body 20r of the sprocket 210 and the second rotating body 20q of the second rotating body 20q Each top is a little higher.

In addition, the outer periphery of the sprocket 210 is provided with ball receiving portions 208 along the outer periphery. Each of the ball receiving portions 208,... In addition, the upper and lower sides of the groove are open. Note that the diameter of the arc of the groove having the arcuate cross section is slightly longer than the diameter of the game ball. Further, the distance between the deepest portion (the portion closest to the central axis of the sprocket 210) at each height position of each ball receiving portion 208,... And the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 201 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the game ball. It has been long.
Here, the projecting portions projecting outwardly between the ball receiving portions 208 of the sprocket 210 are referred to as teeth (sprocket teeth). Further, the diameter and radius at the deepest part of the ball receiving portions 208 at the height positions of the sprocket 210 are referred to as a root diameter and a root radius. In addition, the diameter and radius of each height position of the sprocket 210 at the portion with the longest diameter that becomes the tip (tooth tip) of the tooth are referred to as a tip circle diameter and a tip circle radius.

  From the above, between the cylindrical portion 201 and the sprocket 210, a space through which the game ball can pass vertically is formed for each ball receiving portion 208,. Further, since the diameter of the second cylinder 12b is shorter than the diameter of the game ball with respect to the diameter of the first cylinder 21a, the sprocket 210 has a root diameter of the first rotating body 20p of the sprocket 210. On the other hand, the diameter of the root circle of the second rotating body 20q is shortened by about the diameter of the game ball. That is, the root diameter of the second rotary body 20q, which is the lower part of the sprocket 210, is shorter than the diameter of the root circle of the first rotary body 20p, which is the upper part of the sprocket 210. The diameter of the tip circle of the sprocket 210 corresponding to the tip of each height position is also shorter in the second rotating body 20q than in the first rotating body 20p.

Further, the upper end of the intermediate rotator 20r is integrally joined to the first rotator 20p, the root diameter is equal to that of the first rotator 20p, and the lower end is joined to the second rotator 20q. In addition, the diameter of the root circle is made equal to that of the second rotating body 20q. Accordingly, the intermediate rotating body 20r has a substantially truncated cone shape that decreases as the root diameter decreases from the top to the bottom as a shape corresponding to the intermediate cylinder 21c. Thereby, the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate cylinder 21c is an inclined surface.
The tooth length from the root to the tooth tip is the longest in the first rotating body 20p, the shortest in the second rotating body 20q, and the tooth length of the first rotating body 20p in the intermediate rotating body 20r. The tooth length of the second rotating body 20q is shortened from the top to the bottom of the tooth.

  In addition, in each ball receiving portion 208,..., Game balls are arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages, here, in three upper and lower stages. That is, in each ball receiving portion 208,..., One gaming ball is provided in the first ball receiving portion 211 between the first cylindrical body 21a and the first rotating body 20p, the intermediate cylindrical body 21c and the intermediate rotating body 20r. One is disposed in the intermediate ball receiving portion 213 between the second cylindrical body 21 and one in the second ball receiving portion 212 between the second cylindrical body 21b and the second rotating body 20q. That is, the sprocket 210 is configured to be capable of receiving a plurality of game balls in the vertical direction at each ball receiving portion 208.

  That is, the ball receiving portions 208 of the sprocket 210 are more than the upper first ball receiving portion 211 and the first ball receiving portion 211 that receive the game balls from the introduction portion 202 for introducing the game balls of the storage tank 220. A second ball that is arranged on a lower circumference that is smaller than the circumference of the circumference in which the first ball receiving portion 211 is arranged, and that guides the game ball to the discharge lead-out portion 20a or the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b. The receiving portion 212 is provided with a predetermined vertical dimension between the first ball receiving portion 211 and the second ball receiving portion 212, and the second ball receiving portion 212 is provided from the inner surface of the first ball receiving portion 211. And an intermediate sphere receiving portion 213 having an inclined surface that is continuous with the inner surface.

  Further, each of the ball receiving portions 208,... Is provided from the first rotating body 20p through the intermediate rotating body 20r to the second rotating body 20q, and each of the first rotations having a different diameter (bottom circle diameter). The same number of game balls can be arranged on the outer periphery of the body 20p, the intermediate rotating body 20r, and the second rotating body 20q. Accordingly, since the outer periphery of the first rotating body 20p is longer in circumference than the outer periphery of the second rotating body 20q, the interval between the game balls is less than the outer periphery of the second rotating body 20q. The outer periphery is wider.

  Here, if the area along the circumferential direction of the sprocket 210 of the ball receiving portions 208,... Increases from the bottom to the top, each ball receiving portion 208,. Since there is a possibility that the play of the game ball in the first rotary body 20p becomes too large, the tooth length of the first rotary body 20p is made longer than the radius of the game ball (from the root circle of the first rotary body 20p to the first cylinder). By setting the teeth between the center portions of the game balls (to be longer than ½ of the length to the inner surface of the body 21a), it can function as a spacer between the game balls. ing. Thereby, even if the space | interval of game balls is long, the play of a game ball is prevented from becoming large. If the play of the uppermost game ball of the ball receiving portion 208,... Is too great, the direction of the force applied to the lower game ball is greatly changed due to the large movement of the game ball, and the game ball discharging device 200. May have a negative impact on derivation from

  In addition, it is possible to reliably receive a game ball by making the shape of the first ball receiving portion 211 surround a wide range (a range equal to or greater than the radius) of the game ball. That is, when the protruding amount of the teeth of the ball receiving portions 208,... Is small, there are no teeth between the adjacent game balls, so the receiving area of the game balls is between the adjacent game balls. In this configuration, the receiving area changes due to the movement of the game sphere, and furthermore, due to this change, the position of each game sphere in the introduction unit 202 tends to be random, and the height difference becomes large. Although the game ball bounces greatly and support occurs in receiving the game ball, the above-described problems can be solved by lengthening the teeth in the first ball receiving portion 211 as described above.

On the other hand, in the second rotating body 20q, the interval between the game balls is narrowed so as to be in contact with each other (there is a possibility of contact). It is shorter than the radius (less than half of the length from the root circle of the second rotating body 20q to the inner surface of the second cylinder 21b), and the game ball is pushed by the teeth so that it can move in the circumferential direction. . In addition, by shortening the length of the teeth (projecting portions) constituting the second ball receiving portion 212 of the second rotating body 20q as described above (the contact portion with the game ball is shortened in the radial direction), for example, It is possible to prevent the game ball from being sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the ball extraction / leading portion 20b serving as the outlet and the teeth constituting the second ball receiving portion 212.
From the above, teeth as projecting portions that project outward from the outer periphery of the sprocket 210 and constitute the ball receiving portions 208,... Further, the protruding amount of the teeth (protruding portion) constituting the second ball receiving portion 212 is larger than the protruding amount of the teeth (protruding portion) constituting the first ball receiving portion 211 protruding outward from the outer periphery of the sprocket 210. Is set smaller.

  Further, with the above-described configuration, in each of the ball receiving portions 208,..., The game balls on the lower side than the upper game balls are shifted inward so that the load on the upper game ball is on the lower side. This prevents the game ball from hitting in the vertical direction. For example, a part of the load of the upper game ball (the top game ball and the second game ball) is applied to the inner peripheral surface which is the inclined surface of the intermediate cylinder 21c, and the load of the game ball Is distributed, and the load applied to the lowermost game ball is reduced.

  It should be noted that the highest positions of the upper game balls of the ball receiving portions 208,... Are on the inner periphery of the guide portion 22g, the outer periphery of the rotation guide portion 21f (approximately the height of the upper surface of the sprocket 210), and on the teeth of the sprocket 210. The position is substantially the same as the edge (basically the height of the upper surface of the sprocket 210), so that the top of the game ball does not protrude above the upper edge of the ball receiving portion 208. Thus, the sprocket 210 rotates with the upper end of the game ball protruding from the sprocket ball receiving portions 208,... So that the game ball on the sprocket 210 collides with the game ball protruding from the ball receiving portion 208,. It is possible to prevent repelling and applying a large load to the rotation of the sprocket 210. Conversely, the teeth of the sprocket 210 protrude upward from the game balls in the ball receiving portions 208,... And the teeth collide with the game balls, so that the game balls repel or a large load is applied to the rotation of the sprocket 210. Can be prevented.

The lower surface of the second rotating body 20q of the sprocket 210 (the lower surface of the main body of the sprocket 210) is a substantially horizontal plane, and is provided with a rotating shaft portion 20n that protrudes downward from the center portion thereof. The rotating shaft portion 20n is a columnar member that is suspended substantially vertically from the center of the lower surface of the second rotating body 20q. Further, a columnar insertion shaft portion 20m formed concentrically with the rotation shaft portion 20n is provided to project downward from the lower end of the rotation shaft portion 20n.
The insertion shaft portion 20m is inserted into a bearing hole 21n, which will be described later, formed in the center of the bottom portion 216, and stabilizes the rotation of the sprocket 210 rotated by the rotation shaft 20z of the stepping motor 204 provided above. ing.

  Further, the inner diameter of the bearing hole 21n is wider than the diameter of the insertion shaft portion 20m, and is narrower than the diameter of the rotary shaft portion 20n thereon. In other words, the lower rotary shaft that is the lower rotary shaft of the sprocket 210 is formed from the rotary shaft portion 20n and the insertion shaft portion 20m, and the rotary shaft portion 20n that is the upper portion of the lower rotary shaft portion is larger in diameter than the bearing hole 21n. The insertion shaft portion 20m serving as the large diameter portion and the lower portion of the lower rotating shaft is a small diameter portion having a smaller diameter than the bearing hole 21n. As a result, the rotation shaft portion 20n is not inserted into the bearing hole 21n, and the rotation shaft portion 20n allows the interval between the lower surface of the second rotating body 20q (the lower surface of the teeth of the sprocket 210) and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 to be described later. Thus, it is a spacer that is about the radius of the game ball. Therefore, the vertical length of the rotary shaft portion 20n is the length of the approximate radius of the game ball.

  Here, for example, when a lead-out port (ball lead-out lead part 20b) for leading the game ball is provided at the position of the bottom part 216 that is within the trajectory range of the game ball held at the bottom of the ball receiving part 208,. In addition, before the game ball falls downward from the outlet, the side edge of the sprocket 210 teeth on the rear side of the lowermost game ball 208 in the sprocket 210,. If the distance between the exit and the front side edge of the game ball is equal to the diameter of the game ball, the side edge of the tooth on the rear side of the game ball and the side edge of the outlet on the front side of the game ball There is a possibility that a game ball will be sandwiched between. In particular, in a state where there is almost no vertical distance between the side edge of the tooth and the side edge of the lead-out port, the game ball is easily sandwiched.

  Therefore, as described above, the approximate radius of the game ball is between the lower surface (the lower end of the teeth of the sprocket 210) of the main body of the sprocket 210 (the portion excluding the rotating shaft portion 20n and the insertion shaft portion 20m) and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216. When the game ball reaches the outlet, the sprocket 210 pushes above half of the game ball when the game ball reaches the outlet, and in this case, The place where the side edge of the lower end of the tooth contacts is an inclined surface that rises and inclines in the direction of tooth movement of the sprocket 210, and the game ball is pushed obliquely downward by the teeth of the sprocket 210. Thus, the game ball falls downward from the outlet without being sandwiched between the side edge of the outlet and the side edge of the tooth.

  If the distance between the lower end of the teeth of the sprocket 210 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 becomes too larger than the radius of the game ball, the game ball is always pushed obliquely downward while the sprocket 210 is rotating, and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 is played. A ball is pressed, which is not preferable. On the other hand, as the interval becomes shorter than the radius of the game ball, the possibility that the game ball is pinched increases. Therefore, the interval is preferably approximately the radius of the game ball. Here, the interval between the lower end of the teeth of the sprocket 210 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 is slightly shorter than the radius of the game ball.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the bottom portion 216 closes the opened lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 201, is formed in a substantially disc shape, and the above-described bearing hole 21n is formed in the center portion thereof. ing. And the bottom part 216 becomes a bottom which supports the game ball received in the upper and lower stages (three stages) from the lower side to each of the ball receiving parts 208 of the sprocket 210 as described above, and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical part 201 And the arc-shaped inner peripheral surface of the ball receiving portions 208 of the sprocket 210 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 hold the game balls received in the ball receiving portions 208,.

Further, in the bottom portion 216, when the sprocket 210 rotates in the forward direction, the game balls received by the ball receiving portions 208,... When the discharge lead-out portion 20a, which is an opening, and the sprocket 210 rotate in the reverse direction, the game balls received by the ball receiving portions 208,. The ball extraction lead-out portion 20b, which is an opening for leading out to 247, is formed.
The discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b are formed in the bottom portion 216 close to each other at a position opposite to the inclined portion 22h of the bottom wall 22a.

  The discharge lead-out portion 20a includes a tooth portion between adjacent ball receiving portions 208,... So as to form the ball receiving portions 208,... Of the sprocket 210, and a peripheral portion of an opening serving as the discharge lead-out portion 20a. In order to prevent the game ball from being sandwiched between the two, the game ball along the circumferential direction of the game ball held by the second ball receiving unit 212 which is the lowest step in the ball receiving unit 208,. Are shifted outward from a position completely overlapping the trajectory range of a game ball having a diameter width of.

  Here, in the discharging device 200, when a special game state occurs in the game of the gaming machine 100, a lot of game balls are won within a short period of time, and a large number of prize balls are corresponding to the win. The game ball as a winning ball will be discharged, but in order to avoid a large time interval between winning and discharging the winning ball, The game ball needs to be discharged, and in this case, the sprocket 210 needs to rotate at a high speed.

In this case, as described above, there is a high possibility that a game ball will be sandwiched between the side edge of the opening serving as the lead-out portion and the side edge of the teeth of the sprocket 210. And a gap equivalent to the radius of the game ball between the bottom surface 216 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216, the game ball is prevented from being pinched. Further, in order to prevent the game ball from being pinched reliably, the discharge derivation unit 20a for discharging the winning ball and the rental ball is provided with a trajectory range having a diameter width of the game ball along the circumferential direction of the game ball. It is arranged outside the position where it completely overlaps.
That is, the discharge outlet 20a, which is the outlet, is formed at a position shifted outward from the circular orbit of the game ball held by the ball receivers 208,... (Second rotary body 20q) of the sprocket 210. .

In order to prevent the game ball from being pinched, it is preferable that the discharge lead-out portion 20a is located outside the addendum circle of the second rotating body 20q, which is the lower part of the sprocket 210. , Outside the tip circle. Moreover, the position of the discharge | emission derivation | leading-out part 20a is made outside the locus | trajectory of the center of the game ball hold | maintained at the 2nd ball receiving part 212 used as the lowest step of the ball receiving part 208, ... of the sprocket 210. FIG. That is, the discharge lead-out part 20a is located outside the locus that does not overlap with the locus of the center of the game ball.
The bottom portion 216 is formed with a lead-out convex portion 21i that protrudes outward from the disc-shaped main body in order to dispose the discharge lead-out portion 20a outside the locus of the center of the game ball.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the discharge lead-out portion 20a has an outer periphery of the game ball along the circumferential direction in which the outer peripheral edge is outside the radius of the game ball from the locus of the center of the game ball described above. The outer edge 301 along the tangential direction from one point of the side trajectory, and the inner side in the radial direction of the circle that becomes the trajectory of the game ball from one point of the outer peripheral trajectory, and slightly outside the trajectory of the center of the game ball From the position, the inner edge 302 extending in an arc shape along the locus of the center of the game ball slightly outside the locus of the center of the game ball, and one point on the outer circumference side locus of the outer edge 301 A start point side edge portion 303 having a shape obtained by connecting one end portion corresponding to the one point side of the inner edge portion 302 with a substantially arcuate curve, and the other end portion of the outer edge portion 301. End point having a shape obtained by connecting the other end of the inner edge 302 with a substantially arcuate curve Having a structure shape from the edge 304..
Note that the diameter of the circle constituting the arc of the arc-shaped end side edge 304 is slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball.
In addition, the inner edge 302 and the starting point edge 303 of the outer peripheral edge are inclined surfaces that are inclined downward from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side. Further, these slopes are formed so as to guide the game ball from the start point side edge portion 303 toward the end point side edge portion 304 side. In addition, this slope is at least partially overlapped with the locus of the center of the lowest game ball.

Also, a discharge ball detection sensor 217 is provided below the bottom 216 at a position overlapping the discharge lead-out portion 20a in the vertical direction, as will be described later. That is, a detection sensor 217 (proximity sensor) for counting the number of discharged balls is provided in the discharge outlet 20a as the outlet. This detection sensor 217 is a well-known sensor for a game ball, and has a rectangular plate shape as a whole. A detection hole 306 through which a game ball can pass is formed on one end side, and passes through this detection hole 306. The game ball can be detected without contact.
Then, on the lower side of the bottom portion 216, the detection sensor 217 is disposed at a position overlapping with the discharge derivation portion 20a so as to close the discharge derivation portion 20a, and the detection hole 306 of the detection sensor 217 and the discharge derivation The end portion on the end point side edge portion 304 side of the portion 20a overlaps. In addition, the diameter of the detection hole 306 and the diameter of the arcuate (substantially semicircular) end-side edge 304 are substantially equal, and the outer periphery of the detection hole 306 and the end-side edge 304 are substantially overlapped. . As a result, the game ball guided to the discharge lead-out portion 20a is guided from the start point side edge 303 side to the end point side edge 304 side, and flows down from the end portion on the end point side edge 304 side, and the detection hole It passes through 306.

  Except for the end on the end side edge 304 side of the discharge outlet 20a, the width of the discharge outlet 20a, that is, the distance between the outer edge 301 and the inner edge 302 is based on the diameter of the game ball. In addition to being shortened, the game ball is spread from the start point side edge portion 303 toward the end point side edge portion 304, whereby the game ball introduced to the start point side of the discharge derivation portion 20a is guided to the end point side. Will flow downward on the end point side.

Further, in the portion other than the detection hole 306 overlapping the detection hole 306 of the discharge derivation portion 20a, that is, the portion excluding the end side end portion, the detection sensor 217 (the portion excluding the detection hole 306) and the discharge derivation portion 20a are provided. The detection sensor 217 is exposed from the discharge outlet 20a, but the distance between the outer edge 301 and the inner edge 302, the distance between the upper surface of the detection sensor 217 and the upper surface of the bottom 216, A game ball moving from the starting point side to the ending point side of the discharge derivation unit 20a from the derivation unit surrounding wall 21k, which will be described later, does not touch the upper surface of the detection sensor 217.
When the lowermost game ball of the ball receiving portions 208,... Is transported to the position of the discharge lead-out portion 20a by the rotation of the sprocket 210 as will be described later, the inner edge portion 302 and the starting point are formed. The slope of the side edge 303 that is inclined downward toward the discharge outlet 20a side and the distance between the outer edge 301 and the inner edge 302 are widened from the starting edge 303 to the ending edge 304. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the sprocket 210 and the length from the tooth root to the tooth tip between the ball receiving portions 208 at the bottom of the sprocket 210 are shorter than the diameter of the game ball. Since the rotation shaft side of the sprocket 210 is pushed from the center, the game ball is guided to the discharge lead-out portion 20a outside the center trajectory of the game ball.

Then, the game balls in the lowermost stage (second ball receiving portion 212) of the ball receiving portions 208,... Flow down to the discharge derivation portion 20a. At this time, the above-mentioned rib 21e causes the uppermost game balls (intermediate ball receiving portion 213, first ball receiving portion 211) of the game balls flowing down to the discharge outlet 20a of the ball receiving portions 208,. Although it remains above the lower stage, the game ball in the upper stage from the lowermost stage moves downward by rotating to a portion without the rib 21e. As a result, the game ball in the middle stage (intermediate ball receiver 213) moves to the lowermost stage, and the game ball in the uppermost stage (first ball receiver 211) moves to the middle stage, so the uppermost stage of the ball receivers 208,. Becomes empty, and a game ball can be received at the uppermost stage of the ball receiving portions 208,.
That is, by rotating the sprocket 210, the game balls are received at the top of the ball receiving portions 208,... And the game balls at the bottom are derived.

As described above, the lead-out convex portion 21 i of the bottom portion 216 protrudes outward from the disc-shaped bottom portion 216 body, and is thus exposed to the outside of the cylindrical portion 201.
Moreover, the above-mentioned notch part 21d is formed in the position corresponding to the said protrusion convex part 21i of the 2nd cylinder 21b used as the lower part of the cylinder part 201. As shown in FIG. In addition, the bottom portion 216 is provided with a lead-out portion surrounding wall 21k so as to surround the lead-out convex portion 21i exposed from the notch portion 21d. The lead-out portion enclosing wall 21k is erected on the upper surface of the bottom portion 216, includes the outer periphery of the lead-out convex portion 21i, and excludes the start-side edge portion 303 and the inner edge portion 302 of the discharge lead-out portion 20a. It is formed so as to surround 301 and the end side edge portion 304. That is, the lead-out portion enclosing wall 21k is provided so as to surround the discharge lead-out portion 20a except for the side where the game ball of the discharge lead-out portion 20a flows.

The lead-out enclosure wall 21k surrounds the discharge lead-out portion 20a except for the side where the game ball flows into the discharge lead-out portion 20a, so that the game ball can surely flow down into the discharge lead-out portion 20a. It has become.
Further, a flow-down guide portion 21m that protrudes toward the start point side is provided at a portion that is substantially above the center of the left and right width of the end point side edge portion 304 of the inner peripheral surface of the lead-out portion surrounding wall 21k. The flow-down guide portion 21m is slightly longer than the radius of the end point side edge portion 304 that is substantially semicircular, and protrudes beyond the center of the semicircle of the end point side edge portion 304 of the discharge outlet portion 20a. .

The lower surface of the distal end portion of the flow guide portion 21m has a height from the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 that is slightly higher than the diameter of the game ball. Further, the lower surface of the flow guide portion 21m It is configured to be curved in a substantially arc shape and descend downward as it goes toward the inner peripheral surface side of the part enclosing wall 21k.
As a result, the advancing direction in which the lower surface of the flow guide portion 21m is substantially horizontal in the gaming ball flowing down on the discharge derivation portion 20a is smoothly converted downward, and the game ball is smoothly moved into the discharge derivation portion 20a. It is designed to flow down. As a result, the game ball rebounds at the discharge derivation portion 20a, and the flow of the game ball to the discharge derivation portion 20a is delayed, colliding with the game ball to be discharged next, and hindering the discharge of the game ball. It can be prevented from coming out.

  The lead-out encircling wall 21k covers the periphery of the lead-out convex portion 21i exposed from the notch 21d of the cylindrical body portion 201, but the upper portion of the lead-out convex portion 21i is in an open state. A top plate portion 21h is formed on the outer side of the circumference of the cylindrical body portion 201 (second cylindrical body 21b) from the cutout portion 21d of the cylindrical body portion 201 of the wall 21k.

Further, since the lead-out surrounding wall 21k is formed so as to protrude from the cutout portion 21d of the cylindrical portion 201, it is a concave portion when viewed from the inner peripheral surface side of the cylindrical portion 201, and is guided into this concave portion. The game ball is derived from the discharge deriving unit 20a.
Accordingly, a lead-out concave portion 205 for leading out the game ball is formed by denting a portion corresponding to the second ball receiving portion 212 in the cylindrical body portion 201 serving as the side wall of the storage portion 203 to the outside, and the lead-out concave portion 205 is formed. The discharge lead-out portion 20a (the unclosed portion) is formed at the lower end of the flow-out of the lead-out convex portion 21i serving as the bottom of the discharge lead.

  Here, the portion other than the detection hole 306 that overlaps the detection hole 306 of the discharge outlet 20a, that is, the portion other than the end portion on the end point side, is overlapped with the detection sensor 217 and is closed. The closed portion of the discharge outlet 20a is not necessarily opened, and may be closed at substantially the height position of the upper surface portion of the detection sensor 217. In this case, the closed portion becomes the bottom of the lead-out recess 205. The inclined inner edge portion 302 and outer edge portion 301 of the discharge lead-out portion 20a described above serve as the bottom portion of the lead-out recess portion 205, and the bottom portion of the lead-out recess portion 205 is the upper surface on the inner side of the cylindrical portion 201 of the bottom portion 216, That is, it is one step lower than the bottom of the storage portion 203, and the inclined inner edge portion 302 of the discharge outlet portion 20a is a step portion of these bottom portions. In addition, a portion that overlaps the detection hole 306 of the detection sensor 217 of the discharge derivation unit 20a becomes the discharge derivation unit 20a. Even in the above-described configuration, the portion that does not overlap with the detection hole 306 of the discharge derivation portion 20a is closed by the detection sensor 217, and the portion that substantially overlaps the detection hole 306 vertically with the discharge derivation portion 20a. Become.

  From the above, when a bottom portion that closes a part of the discharge derivation portion 20a is provided, the bottom portion of the lead-out recess portion 205 is formed with a step below the bottom portion of the storage portion 203. An inclined surface (inclined inner edge 302) is formed from the bottom to the bottom of the lead-out recess 205.

  Further, a portion surrounding the end portion on the inner edge portion 302 side of the end point side edge portion 304 of the lead-out portion surrounding wall 21k is integrally joined with a flow guide wall 21p of a ball discharge lead-out portion 20b described later, and this lead-out portion enclosure A part of the wall 21k and the flow guide wall 21p are formed so as to protrude from the outer peripheral portion in the cylindrical portion 201 on the upper surface of the bottom portion 216. Note that at least a part of the protruding portion is included in the range of the movement trajectory of the game ball in the lowermost stage (second ball receiving unit 212) in the ball receiving unit 208,. However, the protruding portion is between the discharge lead-out portion 20a and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b that are close to each other, and in this portion, the lowermost game ball is discharged by the discharge lead-out portion 20a or the ball discharge lead-out portion by the rib 21e. When it flows down to the derivation unit 20b, the game ball above it is prevented from flowing down to the lowest level, and there is no game ball at the lowest level. Therefore, even if a part of the outlet enclosing wall 21k and the flow guide wall 21p protrude on the movement trajectory of the game ball, the movement of the game ball in the ball receiving unit 208, ... is not affected. Yes.

The ball extraction lead-out portion 20b formed on the bottom portion 216 has a substantially square shape in which each side edge (side) as an outer periphery is substantially parallel to each piece on the outer periphery of the storage tank, and the inclined portion 22h of the bottom wall 22a. Only the side edge (side) on the opposite side is an opening having an arc shape, and has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball.
The ball removal lead-out portion 20b is entirely moved circumferentially by the rotation of the sprocket 210 of the game ball held by the second ball receiving portion 212 of the second intermediate rotating body 20r, which is the lower portion of the sprocket 210. The trajectory game balls are arranged so as to substantially overlap the range of the diameter width of the game balls. In other words, the locus of the center of the game ball overlaps with the approximate center of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b.

Moreover, the peripheral part of the derivation | leading-out part 20b for ball removal becomes a slope inclined downward toward the inner side, and guides a game ball to the center side of the derivation | leading-out part 20b for ball removal.
Further, the flow guide wall 21p is provided adjacent to the ball removal lead-out portion 20b at the front side of the game ball moving direction when the sprocket 210 of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b is reversely rotated. 216 is erected substantially vertically from the upper surface. Further, the side surface of the flow guide wall 21p has an arcuate surface shape in which the center side is recessed from the left and right side edges. A flow guide portion 21q having the same shape as the flow guide portion 21m described above is formed on the inner side edge of the flow guide wall 21p, and the traveling direction of the game ball is lowered from the horizontal direction in the same manner as the flow guide portion 21m. It is designed to guide in the direction.
The ball removal lead-out portion 20b overlaps the trajectory of the game ball as described above, so that the game ball is more easily sandwiched than the discharge lead-out portion 20a. The speed at which the sprocket is rotated in the reverse direction for discharging the game ball from the ball discharger 20b, as compared to the speed at which the sprocket 210 is rotated in the forward direction for discharging the game ball from the discharge outlet 20a. As described above, the space between the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 and the lower surface of the main body of the sprocket 210 is spaced about the radius of the game ball, so that the game ball is separated from the side edge of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b and the sprocket. It is possible to sufficiently prevent pinching (balling) between the teeth of 210.

  That is, the ball removal lead-out portion 20b serving as the lead-out port is formed on the rotation path of the game ball received by the ball receiving portion 208,... (Second ball receiving portion 212) in the bottom portion 216, and the sprocket 210 is connected to the sprocket 210. A gap is formed between the lower surface of 210 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 (for example, for preventing ball balls when guiding a game ball to the outlet).

Further, the game ball removal unit 20b is used for replacement or maintenance of the gaming machine, and it is necessary that the game ball is discharged faster as the game ball is paid out. Absent.
The discharge lead-out portion 20a can have the same configuration as the above-described ball discharge lead-out portion 20b, and the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b can have the same configuration as the above-described discharge lead-out portion 20a. Is possible.
The storage portion 203 for storing the sprocket 210 is constituted by the bottom portion 216 having the above-described discharge leading portion 20a and ball discharge leading portion 20b, and the cylindrical portion 201. That is, the discharge device 200 of the gaming machine 100 houses the sprocket 210 and discharges the game balls from the ball receiving portions 208,... To the bottom portion 216 on the downstream side (the discharge discharge portion 20a and the ball discharger). And a storage portion 203 in which a lead-out portion 20b) is formed.

  In addition, the outlet port is used for extracting the discharge derivation unit 20a provided with the detection sensor 217 for detecting the discharge ball and the game ball of the storage tank 220 to the outside of the gaming machine 100 (collection rod of an island facility not shown). .., So that the game balls of the ball receiving portions 208,... Are derived from either the discharge derivation portion 20a or the ball removal derivation portion 20b. The ball removal lead-out portion 20b is formed on the rotation path of the lowermost game ball of the ball receiving portions 208,.

  The bottom member 218 is generally thin (having a short axial length) and has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The diameter of the bottom member 218 is substantially the same as that of the second cylindrical body 21b serving as the lower end of the cylindrical body 201. Yes. A plurality (three) of fixing pieces 311 are provided on the upper portion of the outer peripheral portion of the bottom member 218 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The fixed piece 311 is formed to correspond to fixed bosses 312 formed on the outer peripheral portion of the lower second cylindrical body 21b at intervals in the circumferential direction. And the bottom member 218 is fixed to the lower end part of the cylindrical part 201 by screwing the fixing pieces 311... To the fixing boss 312. Further, the bottom 216 is positioned and placed on the bottom member 218, and the bottom 216 is fixed to the cylinder body 201 by fixing the bottom member 218 to the cylinder body 201.

The bottom member 218 is provided with a cylindrical fitting cylinder 315 having a fitting hole into which a lower end portion of a cylindrical bearing hole 21n protruding downward from the center part of the bottom surface of the bottom part 216 is fitted. It has been.
In addition, the bottom member 218 is provided with a square cylindrical sensor mounting portion 313 that fixes the detection sensor 217 in a accommodated state. The detection sensor 217 is configured such that the detection hole 306 partially protrudes outward from the cylindrical portion 201 corresponding to the discharge lead-out portion 20a, and the sensor mounting portion 313 is also a cylindrical bottom member 218 main body. A part (a part in which the detection hole 306 of the detection sensor 217 is arranged) protrudes outward.

At a position overlapping the detection hole 306 of the detection sensor 217 on the bottom plate of the bottom member 218, a game ball can pass so as to overlap with the detection hole 306, and a hole having substantially the same diameter as the detection hole 306 is formed. The game ball is caused to flow down from the discharge outlet 20a to the inlet of the discharge channel 248 of the chute 240 via the.
Further, a cylindrical ball removal cylinder portion 314 having an inner periphery of the same shape as the ball removal extraction portion 20 b is formed immediately below the ball removal extraction portion 20 b of the bottom portion 216 of the bottom member 218. The game ball is allowed to flow down from the ball removal lead-out portion 20b to the inlet of the ball removal passage 247 of the chute 240 via the ball removal cylinder portion 314.

In the gaming machine as described above, the storage tank 220 and the discharge device 200 discharge the game balls as follows.
First, a game ball is supplied to the storage tank 220 from an island facility (outside the game machine 100) of the game store where the game machine 100 is installed, and the amount of game balls that do not overflow to the storage tank 220 basically. Is stored.

  The game ball stored in the storage tank 220 is opposed to one end portion of the storage tank 220 provided with the discharge device 200 due to the horizontal inclination of the inclined portion 22h of the upper surface of the bottom wall 22a. It will be in the state which can flow from the other edge part used as a side to one edge part. Further, the inclined portion 22h is also inclined in the front-rear direction of the gaming machine 100 corresponding to the rotation direction of the sprocket 210, and a guiding stage in which a step is provided lower than the upstream side of the inclination. Since the portion 22i is provided, as shown in FIG. 13, in the portion along the rotational direction of the sprocket 210 at the portion advanced in the rotational direction of the sprocket 210 from the boundary portion between the inclined portion 22h and the guiding portion 22g. A game ball can flow.

  As a result, the outer peripheral guide portion 22g and the inner peripheral side guide portion 22g, which are provided in the bottom wall 22a of one end portion that is in a state of being overlapped with the discharge device 200 of the storage tank 220, are arranged annularly and concentrically with each other. A game ball is supplied from the other end of the storage tank 220 onto the rotation guide portion 21f and the introduction portion 202 disposed between them, and the sprocket 210 is rotated in response to the rotation of the sprocket 210. A game ball is introduced into the ball receiving portions 208,... Exposed from the introduction portion 202 of the outer peripheral portion.

  Further, when the game ball in the storage tank 220 flows from the other end portion to the one end portion side, the above-described guide portion 22g, introduction portion 202, The height of the game balls stacked on the rotation guide portion 21f is lowered. That is, the height limiting member 260 of the storage tank 220 is disposed slightly from the inclined portion 22h side with respect to the boundary portion between the inclined portion 22h and the guide portion 22g, and the above-described curved portion 263 on the distal end side and the extending portion 262 thereafter. Thus, the height of the game balls stacked on one end side is made lower than the height of the game balls stacked on the other end side from one end of the storage tank 220.

  Thereby, the height of the game ball stacked on the guiding portion 22g and the inner portion thereof is lowered, and the ball pressure directed downward by the load of the game ball is reduced in this portion. Further, the height restricting member 260 is formed in a comb-like shape by notches 265,... Arranged approximately at the diameter interval of the game ball, so that each comb-tooth portion 264,. Thus, when the game ball flows between the height limiting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220, the game ball meshes between the height limiting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a. It is possible to prevent a bridge from being formed and becoming difficult to flow.

  In addition, since the attachment portion 261 of the height limiting member 260 is attached to the drive source attachment member 206 with the stepping motor 204 placed thereon, when the stepping motor 204 is operated, vibrations generated thereby are driven. Even if the bridge is generated from the source mounting member 206 to the height limiting member 260, it can be broken.

  Then, at the end of the storage tank 220 on the discharge device 200 side, the game balls stored in the storage tank 220 are introduced into the discharge device 200 by the height limiting member 260 and the drive source mounting member 206 as described above. The height of the game balls stacked on the introduction part 202 is limited, and the ball pressure based on the load of the game ball is reduced in the introduction part 202 and its vicinity so that the inside of the discharge device 200 (the ball of the sprocket 210 can be smoothly removed from the introduction part 202. A game ball can be introduced into the receiving portion 208...

  In addition, in the introduction part 202 having substantially the same width as the storage tank 220, ten ball receiving parts 208 provided on the outer peripheral part of the sprocket 210 whose upper surface of the outer peripheral part rotates about a substantially horizontal and substantially vertical rotation axis. ,... Are in a state where all the upper openings face, and further, a guiding portion 22g that is inclined inward from the outer peripheral side of the introducing portion 202 is formed, and a rotation guiding portion 21f is formed on the upper surface of the sprocket 210 inside the introducing portion 202. As a result, the game ball can flow in directly from the introduction portion 202, from the outer guiding portion 22g, and from the inner rotation guiding portion 21f. In addition, since the game ball flows in substantially the same condition regardless of the rotation position of the ball receiving portion 208,... From the above-described configuration, the space where the game ball can flow into the ball receiving portion 208,. If possible, game balls can flow in anytime.

  As a result, the game ball can surely flow into the ball receiver 208. In addition, since the game balls can flow into the ball receiving portions 208,... In the upper and lower three stages, in the unlikely event that the ball receiving portions 208,. Even if the ball does not flow into the ball receivers 208,..., One or two game balls are arranged in the ball receivers 208,..., And the ball receivers 208,. Although there is no game ball in the ball receivers 208,... Despite the movement to the position, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the game ball is not derived.

  Therefore, the game ball can be led out smoothly by the rotation of the sprocket 210. That is, if the game balls are held in the upper and lower three stages in the ball receiving portions 208,..., A situation where the game balls are not led out if the game balls flow in during the three rounds of the sprocket 210 is prevented. Can do. Also, as described above, the game ball can flow into the ball receivers 208,... At any time, so that even if two or more holes are generated in the ball receivers 208,. There is no problem even if there is a ball receiving portion 208,... In which the game ball does not flow in while the sprocket 210 makes one round.

  Further, if the game balls can be held in the upper and lower three stages on the ball receiving portions 208,..., The load of the upper game ball is applied to the lowermost game ball. The game balls on the lower side are arranged obliquely inward with respect to the game balls on the upper side without arranging the game balls in a vertical line. For example, at the position of the intermediate ball receiving portion 213 where the middle game ball among the upper and lower three-stage game balls of the sprocket 210 is arranged, the inner cylinder 21c of the cylinder portion 201 serving as the side wall of the storage portion 203 Since the peripheral surface is an inclined surface that is in contact with the oblique lower side of the middle game ball, the inclined surface of the side wall of the storage unit 203 receives a part of the load of the game ball arranged at the uppermost stage and the middle. Thus, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the lowermost game ball by the upper game ball and prevent the sprocket 210 from being obstructed.

Then, in the ball receivers 208,..., The game balls received from the uppermost stage are sequentially moved downward and reached the lowermost stage, and then derived from the discharge derivation unit 20a or the ball removal derivation unit 20b. Become.
At this time, if the sprocket 210 rotates at a high speed, the game ball to be derived is sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the outlet and the teeth of the sprocket 210 as described above, and the game ball cannot be derived, and the sandwiched game If the ball is not removed, the rotation of the sprocket 210 cannot be resumed.

Therefore, for example, by providing an interval about the radius of the game ball between the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 of the storage unit 203 in which the sprocket 210 is stored and the lower surface of the sprocket 210 (the lower edge of the teeth), the game ball Is lowered downward at the lead-out port (ball-drawing lead-out part 20b), the state where the teeth of the sprocket 210 press the slope inclined downward from the top above the half height position of the game ball, that is, The game ball is pressed obliquely downward, and the game ball can be prevented from being pinched as described above.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 22 (A), in the ball removal lead-out portion 20b, the peripheral edge is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the inside, so that the game ball is a peripheral portion of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b. At the stage where the game ball is lowered, the teeth of the sprocket 210 are on the upper side with respect to the intermediate height of the game ball, and the game ball is pushed diagonally downward before the game ball flows down into the ball outlet lead-out portion 20b. It is possible to prevent the game ball from being pinched more reliably.

Further, in the discharge lead-out portion 20a as the lead-out port, the portion serving as the lead-out port is arranged so as to be shifted outward from the tooth tip circle of the second rotating body 20q that is the lowest stage of the sprocket 210, The game ball is not sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the discharge outlet 20a and the teeth of the sprocket 210.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 20 (A) and 21 (A), a game ball adjacent to the discharge derivation unit 20a on the near side of the discharge derivation unit 20a is outside the center trajectory. In the portion 20a, the centrifugal force at the time of rotation of the sprocket 210 and the inner peripheral edge portion of the discharge lead-out portion 20a are positioned so as to overlap the trajectory of the center of the game ball at the time of rotation of the sprocket 210. It is guided by an inclined surface that inclines downward toward the lead-out portion 20a side (outside the center trajectory of the game ball). Then, as shown in FIGS. 20B and 21B, the game ball is further pushed by the teeth of the sprocket 210 and approaches the discharge lead-out portion 20a. At this time, the traveling direction of the game ball is changed. It does not have an arc shape, and is along the tangential extension of the rotation path of the game ball at the time of FIG. 20 (A) and FIG. 21 (A).
Then, as shown in FIGS. 20C and 21C, before the game ball reaches the end point side end of the discharge lead-out portion 20a where the game ball can flow downward, the game ball is removed from the teeth of the sprocket 210. In a stage where the game ball is completely separated to the outside and the game ball flows downward from the discharge deriving portion 20a, the game ball is sandwiched between the teeth of the sprocket 210 and the end point side edge 304 of the discharge deriving portion 20a. It becomes impossible.

From the above, in the discharging device 200, the number of game balls corresponding to the rotation angle of the sprocket 210 is surely discharged, and the game ball is sandwiched at the outlet, so that the sprocket 210 does not rotate. Can be prevented. In particular, when the sprocket 210 does not rotate, there is a possibility that work by an attendant may be necessary, but by preventing this reliably, the player becomes unable to play a game while waiting for the attendant's work. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the player is dissatisfied with being unable to play the game.
Although it is conceivable to reversely rotate the sprocket 210 in order to eliminate the non-rotatable state, there is a possibility that the game ball may be discharged from the ball removal lead-out portion 20b due to the reverse rotation, and such control is also problematic. There is.

In the control of the discharge control board 34 of the discharge device 200 as described above, a game ball won from a sensor of each winning port (including various winning devices) provided in the game area on the front side of the game board 1 during the game. When a signal indicating this is input to the main control board 30, a prize ball command including data on the number of prize balls corresponding to each winning opening is output from the main control board 30 to the discharge control board 34.
On the discharge control board 34, the stepping motor 204 receives a number of pulses corresponding to the above rotation angle so as to rotate the sprocket 210 (the rotation shaft 20z of the stepping motor 204) by the rotation angle corresponding to the number of prize balls. Output sequentially.

  Here, as described above, assuming that ten ball receiving portions 208,... Are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery of the sprocket 210, 1/10 rotation, that is, 36.0 degrees each. One game ball is derived each time the sprocket 210 rotates. When the game ball is derived, the detection sensor 217 detects the game ball to be discharged and outputs a detection signal to the discharge control board 34. The discharge control board 34 corresponds to the rotation angle of the sprocket 210. Can be detected.

  Further, since the stepping motor 204 of this example has a rotation angle of one step, that is, a rotation angle with respect to one pulse input of 1.8 degrees, for example, it is necessary to pay out one game ball. It is necessary to input 20 pulses to rotate 0 degree. Further, when the sprocket 210 is rotated in the forward direction when the prize ball is paid out, the discharge control board 34 outputs a pulse to the stepping motor every 3 ms (milliseconds). Therefore, when the stepping motor is continuously rotated, pulses are output 20,000 times in 1 minute, that is, 60000 ms, and it rotates 36000 degrees, that is, 100 times. Accordingly, the sprocket 210 can be rotated at 100 revolutions per minute in the forward direction, and is set so that a maximum of 1000 game balls can be discharged per minute.

  Therefore, for example, when a prize ball command indicating that the number of prize balls is 5 is output to the discharge control board 3, in order to rotate the sprocket 210 by 36.0 × 5 degrees, 100 pulses every 3 ms. As a result, the sprocket 210 rotates 180 degrees in 300 ms, that is, 0.3 seconds, and five game balls are sequentially paid out. Then, the discharge control board 34 checks whether or not the number of game balls corresponding to the data of the number of prize balls has been discharged based on the detection signal from the detection sensor, and if the number of game balls actually detected is small Then, the sprocket 210 is rotated again by the number of game balls that are insufficient. That is, each time one game ball is insufficient, the sprocket 210 is rotated again by 36.0 degrees as a rotation angle for discharging one game ball.

  By this control, even if a situation occurs in which the game balls are not discharged from the ball receiving portions 208,... Rotated to the position where the game balls are led out, the game balls having a predetermined number of prize balls can be discharged. . Further, the discharge control board 34 can discharge game balls even based on a ball rental command input from a ball lending machine provided adjacent to the game machine 100. In this case, the control of the payout of the rental balls in the discharge device 200 is basically the same as the payout of the prize balls.

  Further, in the control of the payout of the prize balls and the rental balls, when the game ball detection signal from the half-end sensor 22k is interrupted, that is, a signal indicating that the game ball cannot be detected is input to the discharge control board 34. In such a case, the discharge device 200 is not operated. Thereby, when there is a possibility that there is not enough game balls required for one discharge in the storage tank 220, the game balls are not discharged.

  In addition, a ball removal switch (not shown) is provided on the back side of the front frame 120. The ball removal switch is connected to the discharge control board 34, and an ON signal based on the switch operation is input to the discharge control board 34 from the ball removal switch. In this case, the discharge control board 34 outputs a pulse to the stepping motor 204 so as to rotate the sprocket 210 in the reverse direction. In this case, the pulse interval for rotating the sprocket 210 in the forward direction to discharge the above-mentioned prize balls and rental balls is 3 ms, but the pulse interval is doubled to 6 ms. It has become. As a result, the rotation speed in the forward direction of the sprocket 210 was 100 rotations per minute, whereas the rotation speed in the reverse direction for ball removal is halved to 50 rotations per minute.

By reducing the rotation speed of the sprocket 210, the sprocket 210 rotates in the reverse direction, and the game ball is derived from the ball removal lead-out portion 20b provided so as to overlap the rotation trajectory of the game ball. It can prevent more reliably that it is pinched | interposed between the tooth | gear of the sprocket 210 tooth | gear, and the peripheral part of the derivation | leading-out part 20b for ball removal.
In addition, since all the game balls in the storage tank 220 are basically discharged at the time of ball removal, pulses are continuously output to the stepping motor 204 at predetermined 6 ms intervals when the ball removal switch is on. However, when a signal indicating that a game ball is not detected from the half-end sensor 22k is input to the discharge control board 34, a predetermined time after the signal is input (for example, after several seconds to several tens of seconds have elapsed) ) The pulse output is automatically stopped and the stepping motor 204 is automatically stopped. Thereby, if the storage tank 220 becomes empty during the ball removing operation, the discharge device 200 automatically stops.

Next, a modification of the above-described embodiment will be described. In each modified example described below, only the parts different from the above embodiment will be described, and the description of the same configuration as the above embodiment will be omitted. Accordingly, in each of the modifications described below, the portions that are not described basically have the same configuration as that of the above embodiment.
In the first modification, as shown in FIG. 22 (B), the sprocket 210 of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b is reversely rotated in the ball discharge lead-out portion 20b of the bottom portion 216 constituting the bottom surface of the storage portion 203. In this case, a step portion 209 that is one step lower than the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 is provided on the front side of the game ball of the ball removal lead-out portion 20b (during reverse rotation), and the sprocket 210 ( The distance to the lower surface of the teeth of the sprocket 210 is longer than the radius of the game ball.
That is, a stepped portion 209 is formed which is an edge portion of the ball extraction leading portion 20b serving as a lead-out port and has a stepped downward from the bottom portion 216 of the storage portion 203 in the direction in which the game ball enters the lead-out port. The dimension between the lower surface of the step and the upper surface of the step portion 209 is set larger than the radius of the game ball.

  Thus, for example, when the distance between the upper surface of the bottom portion 216 serving as the bottom surface of the storage portion 203 and the lower surface of the sprocket 210 is approximately the radius of the game ball, and the game ball is slightly shorter than the radius of the game ball. When moving to the stepped portion 209 in front of the extraction lead-out portion 20b, the stepped portion 209 lowers the position of the game ball by one step. As a result, the contact position between the game ball and the tooth of the sprocket 210 that pushes the game ball in the rotational direction becomes slightly higher than the center of the game ball, and the tooth of the sprocket 210 is inclined downward as described above. It is possible to prevent the game ball from being pinched between the peripheral edge of the outlet and the teeth of the sprocket 210 more reliably.

Further, by making the distance between almost the entire upper surface of the bottom portion 216 serving as the bottom surface of the storage portion 203 and the lower surface of the sprocket 210 slightly larger than the radius of the game ball, a structure in which the game ball is more difficult to be sandwiched can be achieved. However, in this case, a force that is constantly pressed against the bottom 216 side acts on the lowermost game balls of the ball receiving portions 208,... And a load is applied to the rotation of the sprocket 210. However, when the distance between the upper surface of the stepped portion 209 and the lower surface of the sprocket 210 is made slightly larger than the radius of the game ball, only the game ball moved onto the stepped portion 209 is pressed against the bottom 216 side. Therefore, the game ball can be reliably prevented from being caught at the outlet without applying a large load to the rotation of the sprocket 210.
In addition, when the structure of the discharge | emission derivation | leading-out part 20a is made into the structure similar to the derivation | leading-out part 20b for ball removal, also in the derivation | leading-out part 20a for discharge, the above-mentioned level | step-difference part 209 in the front direction of the forward direction of a game ball is also mentioned. May be provided.

  Next, the swinging of the discharge device 200 will be described. As described above, the swing shaft 401 is disposed at the upper end of the end of the discharge device 200 on the storage tank 220 side so as to be substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the game ball from the storage tank 200 to the discharge device 200. Therefore, when the storage tank 200 and the storage portion 411 of the discharge device 200 are empty, the lower portion of the discharge device 200 is in the first state closest to the storage tank 220 as shown in FIG. ing. In this first state, the discharge tank 200 side end portions of the front wall 22c and the rear wall 22d of the storage tank 220 are substantially in contact with the bottom surface of the groove portion 412 on the storage tank 220 side of the dam wall 207, including the lower portion thereof. In addition, the upper surface of the outer peripheral edge portion of the guide portion 22g on the storage tank 220 side is substantially in contact with the lower surface of the end portion of the bottom wall 22a on the discharge device 200 side. Note that the discharge device 200 may be biased toward the first state side by a biasing means such as a spring.

  Further, in the first state, the height limiting member 260 is the highest state, that is, the state farthest from the bottom wall 22a (inclined portion 22h). In addition, the screw 405 is located at the end opposite to the storage tank 220 with respect to the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 of the tank mounting member 402.

Here, when the game balls are supplied to the storage tank 202 by supplying the game balls to the storage tank 220, the ball pressure of the game balls on the inclined portion 22h acts, and the discharge device 200 moves to the second state side. To do. In the second state, as shown in FIGS. 15B and 16, the discharge device 200 side end of the front wall 22 c and the rear wall 22 d of the storage tank 220 from the bottom surface in the groove 412 on the storage tank 220 side of the dam wall 207. The lower part of the part is in a separated state, and the overlapping part which is the outer periphery on the storage tank 220 side of the guide part 22g is separated from the lower surface of the end part on the discharge device 200 side of the bottom wall 22a. In the second state, the height limiting member 260 is in the lowest state, that is, the state closest to the bottom wall 22a (inclined portion 22h). In addition, the screw 405 is positioned at the end on the storage tank 220 side with respect to the arc-shaped elongated hole 414 of the tank mounting member 402, so that the lower portion of the discharge device 200 is further lowered than in the second state. Swinging away from the storage tank 220 is restricted, and swinging beyond the second state is prevented.

Further, when the game ball is further supplied to the storage tank 220, the game ball comes into contact with the height limiting member 260 and a ball pressure acts in a direction to push up the height limiting member 260, so that the discharge device 200 is changed from the second state to the first state. It will return to the state.
Normally, the storage tank 200 does not become empty. For example, as described above, the game balls are stored so that the discharge device 200 is in the second state, or the discharge device 200 returns to the first state. Game balls are stored in

  In this state, when the stepping motor 204 of the discharging device 200 is operated to discharge or remove the game ball, the discharging device 200 is moved in the first state and the second state due to the vibration caused by the operation of the stepping motor 204 and the rotation of the sprocket 210. It will swing between the states. Note that, depending on the state of vibration, the discharging device 200 may swing between the first state and the state before the second state without reaching the second state.

Here, when the sprocket 210 rotates, the game ball is discharged and the game ball is received. Here, the game ball received by the ball receiving portion 208 of the sprocket 210 comes into contact with the sprocket 210 and the cylindrical body portion 201, so that a load is applied to the rotation of the sprocket 210.
Accordingly, the load on the sprocket 210 varies depending on the position of the outer periphery of the sprocket 210 when the game ball is discharged or received. Therefore, a larger vibration occurs than when the sprocket 210 is simply rotated. In addition, when a game ball is received or discharged, a force acts on the sprocket 210 from the game ball, and the rotation of the sprocket 210 is disturbed at the moment when the game ball is received or discharged. Become.

Also, the sprocket 210 pays out one or more types of game balls predetermined for each prize ball corresponding to the prize ball of the game ball. Depending on the state of the prize ball generation, the sprocket 210 may start rotating. There is also a possibility that the rotation stop is repeated, and in such a case as well, the discharge device 200 swings. From the above, the discharge device 200 is swung by the operation of the discharge device 200.
Further, as described above, even if the game state is stored, force is applied to the discharge device 200, and the discharge device 200 also swings when the game ball flows due to the discharge of the game ball or the supply of the game ball. . That is, in the discharge device 200, a force acts in the direction of moving to the second state due to the ball pressure of the game ball as described above, but the height restriction member 260 enters the first state when pressed by the game ball. Since force acts in the moving direction, the discharge device 200 swings due to a change in the state of these forces.

  In addition, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 15A, in the sprocket 210 having a center of gravity at the center of rotation, by providing an eccentric weight 420, the center of gravity is decentered with respect to the center of rotation. A large center of gravity (load) movement may occur, and the discharge device 200 may swing. That is, the center of gravity of the sprocket 210 as the rotating body may be eccentric with respect to the rotating shaft 20z. Further, the center of gravity may be moved by the rotation of the sprocket 210 by attaching the eccentric weight 420 to the rotary shaft 20z, or the eccentric weight 420 is provided in the rotating portion such as the rotor of the stepping motor 204. You may make it the movement of a gravity center arise by rotation.

As described above, when the discharge device 200 is swung, the discharge device 200 side end of the bottom wall 22a serving as a boundary portion between the discharge device 200 and the storage tank 220 and the guide portion 22g outside the storage tank 220 side are provided. When the guide portion 22g moves up and down at the contact portion with the peripheral edge, this can be reliably broken when a ball clog occurs on the introduction portion 202.
Also, at this time, the height-limiting member 260 moves up and down with respect to the game ball on the bottom wall 22a (inclined portion 22h) slightly upstream from the guiding portion 22g, so that the game in a ball clogged state The clogging can be resolved by breaking the sphere.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, in the storage tank 220, the height limiting member 260 is not pushed up as described above, but the game ball is stored to such an extent that the ball pressure is applied to the discharge device 202, and the discharge device When 200 is in the second state, it is assumed that a clogged ball has occurred between the height limiting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a.
Here, when the game balls are sequentially discharged, the game balls on the introduction unit 202 are sequentially discharged by the sprocket, and the number of game balls on the introduction unit 202 decreases, the height restriction is imposed on the storage tank 202 side from the introduction unit 202. Due to the clogging of the ball between the member 260 and the bottom wall 22a, the game ball cannot flow into the introduction part 202 side.

However, on the introduction part 202 including the guide part 22g, if the ball clogging is suppressed by the swinging and vibration of the discharge device 200 and the game balls are discharged, the game balls are reduced, The game ball is not inflow from the upstream side of the inclined portion 22h of the tank 220. In this state, the game ball on the discharge device 200 side decreases, so that the ball pressure of the game ball does not act on the discharge device 200 side, and the discharge device 200 returns to the first state.
At this time, the height restricting member 260 moves upward, the gap between the height restricting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a is opened, and the guide portion 22g moves at the boundary between the bottom wall 22a and the guide portion 22g. As a result, the ball clogging is eliminated, and the game balls are replenished before the game balls on the introduction unit 202 run out.

As described above, before the discharge device 200 enters the second state, the sprocket 210 rotates when the game ball is discharged, so that the discharge device 200 swings and the height limiting member 260 moves up and down. There is a high possibility that the ball clogging between the height limiting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a will be eliminated before the game balls on the introduction part 202 of the discharge device 200 decrease. However, when the ball pressure of the game ball is applied to the discharge device 200 side and the swing of the discharge device 200 in a state where it is not applied change, the height restriction member 260 is reduced when the ball pressure is reduced. The ball is likely to rise and the ball clogging is reliably eliminated.
Therefore, when a ball clog occurs between the height limiting member 260 and the bottom wall 22a, the game ball does not flow down to the discharge device 200 side, the ball pressure of the game ball to the discharge device 200 decreases, and the ball is blocked. Since it will be in the state which is easy to eliminate, clogging of a ball will be eliminated certainly.

  The gaming machine 100 of this embodiment as described above is integrated with the storage tank 220 which is located on the inclined downstream side of the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 and the storage tank 220 for storing game balls supplied from the outside. In the gaming machine having a tank discharge device 230 provided with a discharge device 200 provided in the storage tank 220 and capable of discharging a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tank 220, the discharge device 200 is centered on the rotating shaft 20z. And a sprocket 210 as a rotating body having a plurality of ball receiving portions 208 that receive the game balls from the introduction portion 202 into which the game balls of the storage tank 220 are introduced, and the rotation of the sprocket 210 In response to this, the ball receiving unit 208 receives the game ball and accepts the received game ball from the discharge derivation unit 20a or the ball extraction derivation unit 20. The storage tank 220 is attached to the main body of the gaming machine 100, and the discharge device 200 is attached to the storage tank 220 so as to be swingable around a swing shaft 401. Yes.

  Therefore, when the discharge operation is performed in the discharge device 200, that is, when the sprocket 210 rotates, the discharge device 200 swings with respect to the storage tank 220 due to the rotation of the sprocket 210 and the like. The ball clogging caused by, for example, the game balls before flowing into the discharge device 200 from each other mesh with each other to form a bridge is eliminated. That is, even if a plurality of game balls are engaged and solidified in the introduction part 202 or the vicinity thereof, the game balls on the introduction part 202 are moved especially by the swinging of the discharge device 200, and the game balls Will be broken.

Here, the sprocket 210 does not necessarily have a center of gravity at the center of rotation, and when the center of gravity deviates from the center of rotation, the discharge device swings due to the rotation of the sprocket 210.
In addition, in the sprocket 210, the game ball is derived and received by the rotation, and the presence state of the game ball in each ball receiving portion 208 of the sprocket 210 is changed, thereby moving the center of gravity of the sprocket 210. In addition, the load (friction or the like) with respect to the rotation of the sprocket 210 changes depending on the position of the sprocket 210, so that the discharge device 200 swings even if the center of gravity of the sprocket 210 is coincident with the center of rotation.

Further, when the game ball is derived from the discharge device 200 and the game ball is received by the discharge device 200, a force acts between the discharge device 220 and the game ball to be discharged or the game ball to be received. Also causes the discharge device 200 to swing.
Further, the rotation of the sprocket 210 generates vibrations (including those caused by the deviation between the center of gravity and the center of rotation described above, but also includes vibrations caused by elements other than the center of gravity of the sprocket 210 such as vibrations of the drive source). As a result, the discharge device 200 swings and the discharge device 200 is swingable with respect to the storage tank 220, so that the vibration state differs between the storage tank 220 side and the discharge device 200 side. It becomes a state where the ball clogging is easier to be resolved than in the case where it is done.

  Further, in this embodiment, the bottom wall 22a of the storage tank 220 is inclined downward toward one side in the left-right direction of the gaming machine 100, and an inclined portion 22h in which game balls flow irregularly with a plurality of widths is formed. The swing shaft 401 is provided in the front-rear direction, and the discharge device 200 has a first state in which a connecting portion (guide portion 22g) with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion 22h is located in the inclined upstream direction of the inclined portion 22h. The connecting portion (guide portion 22g) with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion 22h can swing to the second state located in the inclined downstream direction of the inclined portion 22h and is biased to the first state. ing.

Accordingly, when the game ball is supplied to the storage tank 220 or when the game ball is derived, etc., when the game ball flows down along the inclination direction of the inclined portion 22h, it follows the direction crossing the inclined portion 22h. The force of the game ball on the inclined portion acts on the discharging device 200 that can swing freely on the swinging shaft 401 provided, and for example, the discharging device 200 moves from the upstream side to the downstream side of the inclined portion 22h. That is, it is pushed to move from the first state to the second state. As a result, the discharging device 200 swings from the first state to the second state against the biasing force to the first state, and further swings back from the second state to the first state. The movement will be repeated several times.
Alternatively, in the discharge device 200 in the second state due to the ball pressure in the storage tank 200, the discharge device 200 swings from the second state to the first state when the ball pressure is reduced by deriving the game ball. It is also possible to do this.

  Due to such swinging of the discharge device 200, when the ball is clogged, the clogging of the ball is eliminated. That is, not only does the discharge device 200 swing due to the rotation of the sprocket 210 in the discharge device 200, but also the discharge device 200 swings depending on the state of the game ball in the storage tank 220, and the ball clogging is eliminated. In addition, the discharge device 200 is returned to the first state by the movement or derivation of the game ball in a state where the ball pressure received from the game ball on the inclined portion 22h is large and the discharge device 200 is in the second state. In the case where 200 is hardly swung and stops in the second state, the discharging device 200 is urged by the urging means such as a spring in the direction from the second state to the first state by the urging means. May be.

  Further, in this embodiment, the discharge device 200 is provided with the introduction portion 202, and the upstream end portion of the introduction portion 202 overlaps with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion 22h. When 200 changes from the first state to the second state, the upstream end of the introduction portion 202 moves downward.

  Therefore, when the introduction unit 202 that is a shared part of the discharge device 200 and the storage tank 220 is provided on the discharge device 200 side, the introduction unit 202 moves together with the discharge device 200, and Since the upper end portion side of the introduction portion 202 overlaps with the downstream end portion of the inclined portion 22h of the bottom wall 22a, the ball clogging occurs in the portion from the inclined portion 22h to the introduction portion 202. By moving the introduction part 202 with respect to the inclined part 22h, it is possible to efficiently move the game ball that is clogged with the ball and eliminate the clogged ball.

  In addition, the upstream end of the introduction portion 202 is always lower than the downstream end of the inclined portion 22h when the discharge device 200 is changed from the first state to the second state. In addition, even if the introduction unit 202 swings, the flow of the game ball from the inclined part 22h to the introduction unit 202 is not hindered.

  Further, in this embodiment, the introduction part 202 is positioned on the inclined downstream side of the inclined part 22h, and the height for limiting the stacking height of the game balls flowing down the inclined part 22h and flowing into the introducing part 202 is limited. A restriction member 260 is provided in the discharge device 200, and the height restriction member 260 faces the upper surface of the inclined portion 22h from the discharge device 200 toward the upstream side of the inclined portion 22h. The height restricting member 260 moves up and down as the discharge device 200 swings between the first state and the second state.

Therefore, by restricting the stacking height of the game balls flowing into the introduction part 202 by the height limiting member 260, the game balls are stacked high on the introduction part 202, thereby increasing the ball pressure due to the weight of the game balls, It is possible to prevent the game balls from being easily jammed.
In addition, in a portion where the height restricting member 260 and the inclined portion 22h overlap each other, the game balls are clogged between the height restricting member 260 and the inclined portion 22h due to a large number of game balls flowing in at once. In this state, when the discharge device 200 changes its position between the first state and the second state due to the swinging of the discharge device 200, the height limiting member 260 moves up and down. Thereby, since the space | interval of the height limiting member 260 and the inclination part 22h becomes wide or becomes narrow, the ball clogging between the height restriction member 260 and the inclination part 22h can be broken. That is, the game ball was sandwiched between the inclined portion 22h and the height restricting member 260, but the interval between the inclined portion 22h and the height restricting member 260 is increased. The game ball is released from the sandwiched state, and the ball clogging is eliminated.
Alternatively, the game balls solidified in a bridge shape by meshing with each other between the inclined portion 22h and the height restricting member 260 are strongly pressed due to a narrow interval between the inclined portion 22h and the height restricting member 260. This breaks the bridge and eliminates the clogging.

Further, when the discharge device 200 is in the first state, the height restriction member 260 is increased, and when the discharge device 200 is in the second state, the height restriction member 260 is decreased, and the storage ball 220 is replenished with game balls, When the game apparatus has a large number of game balls, the discharge device 200 is in the second state due to the ball pressure, and when the number of game balls is small, the first state is achieved.
If there is a large number of game balls in the storage tank 220 and a ball clogging occurs between the height limiting member 260 and the downstream portion of the inclined portion 22h on the inclined portion 22h side from the introduction portion 202, the discharge device 200 plays the game The second state is caused by the load of the sphere, and the height limiting member 260 is in a low state. Then, on the introduction unit 202 side from the ball clogging position in the storage tank 220, the game ball is discharged every time the game ball is discharged by the discharge device 200 in a state where the game ball cannot flow down to the introduction unit 202 side due to the ball clogging. As a result, the game balls on the introduction unit 202 are reduced, and the load (ball pressure) of the game balls on the discharge device 200 is thereby reduced.

  Therefore, the discharge device 200 returns from the second state to the first state and the height restricting member 260 is in a high state in a state where the remaining game balls on the introduction unit 202 are low. In this case, the space between the downstream portion of the inclined portion 22h and the height restricting member 260 is opened, and the height restricting member 260 that has pressed the upper portion of the game ball that is clogged with the ball is separated upward, The upper side of the game ball that has been jammed is released. Thereby, the ball clogging can be eliminated, and the game ball flows into the introduction part 202 side. Further, at this time, the discharge device 200 repeats swinging by swinging back and the like, and the height restricting member 260 repeatedly moves up and down accordingly, so that the clogging of balls is surely eliminated.

  Further, in this embodiment, the discharging device 200 attaches a stepping motor 204 as a drive source for driving the sprocket 210 as the rotating body to the upper side of the sprocket 210 by a drive source attachment member 206, and the drive source attachment member The height limiting member 260 is attached to 206.

  Accordingly, the drive source mounting member 206 vibrates based on the operation of the stepping motor 204, and further, the vibration of the drive source mounting member 206 is transmitted to the height limiting member 260, so that the game ball contacting the height limiting member 1260 is vibrated. Can prevent clogging. That is, the clogging of the balls can be prevented more reliably by the height limiting member 260 vibrating in addition to the swinging of the discharge device 200.

In this embodiment, the center of gravity of the sprocket 210 may be eccentric with respect to the rotary shaft 20z as described above.
By decentering the center of gravity of the sprocket 210, the discharge device 200 can be reliably swung based on the rotation of the sprocket 210, and the ball clogging can be eliminated.

Note that the gaming machine of the present invention is not limited to the pachinko gaming machine of the above embodiment as a gaming machine, and can be applied to various gaming machines that pay out gaming balls.
Further, it should be considered that the embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a perspective view which shows the back surface side of the game machine concerning embodiment to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the back surface side of the gaming machine which removed the machine frame from the state of FIG. 1 and opened the back mechanism frame. It is a perspective view which shows the front side of the said back mechanism frame. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the front side of the said back mechanism frame. It is a top view which shows the said back mechanism frame which removed the tank discharge device which consists of a storage tank and a discharge device. It is a perspective view which shows the back surface side of the said tank discharge apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the back surface side of the said tank discharge apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the said discharge device. It is a top view which shows the storage part of the said storage tank and discharge apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the said storage tank and the said accommodating part. It is drawing which shows the said storage tank and the said accommodating part. It is a perspective view which shows the storage part which accommodated the said storage tank, sprocket, and the rotary body upper member. It is a top view for showing the storage tank which stored the game ball, and the storage part which stored the sprocket and the rotating body upper member, and explains the flow direction of the game ball. It is drawing which shows the storage tank which stored the game ball, and the discharge device in which the game ball was introduced. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating rocking | fluctuation of the discharge apparatus which has the said height limiting member. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating rocking | fluctuation of the discharge apparatus which has the said height limiting member. It is drawing for demonstrating the cross-sectional structure of the said storage tank. It is sectional drawing which shows the discharge device in which the game ball was introduced. It is a perspective view which shows the bottom part of the said discharge device. It is a top view which shows the bottom part of the discharge device for demonstrating derivation | leading-out of the game ball in the said discharge device. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the discharge device for demonstrating derivation | leading-out of the game ball in the said discharge device. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows the discharge device for demonstrating derivation | leading-out of the game ball in the said discharge device.

Explanation of symbols

100 gaming machine 200 discharging device 202 introducing unit 208 ball receiving unit 20a discharging derivation unit (derivation unit)
20b Deriving part for ball removal
20z Rotating shaft 210 Sprocket (Rotating body)
220 Storage tank 22a Bottom wall 22h Inclined portion 230 Tank discharge device 260 Height limiting member 401 Oscillating shaft

Claims (5)

A storage tank that stores game balls supplied from the outside, and a predetermined number of game balls that are located on the inclined downstream side of the bottom wall of the storage tank and are provided integrally with the storage tank and stored in the storage tank. In a gaming machine having a tank discharge device equipped with a discharge device capable of discharging,
The discharge device is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis, and includes a rotating body having a plurality of ball receiving portions that receive game balls from an introduction portion into which the game balls of the storage tank are introduced. In response to the rotation of the ball, the game ball is received in the ball receiving unit and the received game ball is led out to the deriving unit .
The pre-Symbol reservoir tank is attached to the gaming machine main body, mounted to be swingable about a swing axis the discharge device to the storage tank,
A gaming machine , wherein a center of gravity of the rotating body is eccentric with respect to the rotating shaft . The bottom wall of the storage tank is inclined down to one side of the gaming machine in the left-right direction, and an inclined portion is formed in which gaming balls flow irregularly with a plurality of widths,
The swing shaft is provided in the longitudinal direction of the gaming machine,
The discharge device includes a first state in which a connection portion with a downstream end portion of the inclined portion is located in an inclined upstream direction of the inclined portion, and a connection portion between the downstream end portion of the inclined portion and an inclined downstream portion of the inclined portion. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is swingable to a second state positioned in a direction and biased to the first state. The discharge device is provided with the introduction portion, and is configured such that an upstream end portion of the introduction portion overlaps a lower end portion of the inclined portion,
3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein when the discharging device converts the first state to the second state, the upstream end portion of the introduction portion moves downward. The discharge portion is provided with a height limiting member that limits the height at which the game balls flowing down the inclined portion and flowing into the introduction portion are positioned on the downstream side of the inclined portion.
The height limiting member is
Extending from the discharge device toward the upstream side of the inclined portion so as to increase the distance from the surface of the height limiting member facing the upper surface of the inclined portion,
The game according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the height restricting member moves up and down by swinging the discharge device between the first state and the second state. Machine. The discharge device attaches a driving source for driving the rotating body above the rotating body by a driving source mounting member,
The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the height restriction member is attached to the drive source attachment member.

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